BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College earned a 2-1 series win over Lesley University with a 14-2 rubber-match victory over the Lynx today at Bill Epstein Field. SVC improves to 15-14 on the year and 8-4 in NECC action while Lesley  drops to 14-16 overall and 7-7 against the NECC with the loss.

Dylan Angelo (Ft. Johnson, N.Y.) went the distance for the Mountaineers, picking up his third win in as many starts as he moves to 5-1 on the season.

Lesley freshman catcher Justin Cervantes (Oxnard, Calif.) extended his current hit-streak to ten games as he was 2-for-4 in the effort while sophomore first baseman Justin Clark (Chino Hills, Calif.) went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Junior right fielder J.P. Agiorgousis (Hanscom, Mass.) tallied a 1-for-2 day with a run scored, and freshman designated hitter Ryan Pumphret (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was 2-for-3 for the Lynx.

Lynx sophomore righty Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) suffered the loss (3-3) from the bump, giving up six earned runs while racking up a season-high eight strikeouts.

Mountaineer senior second baseman RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) went 4-for-5, knocking in two runs and scoring another pair. Sophomore right fielder Niko D'Agnese (Mahopac, N.Y.) went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored while classmate third baseman Rob Spatafore (Mahopac, N.Y.) was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Freshman first baseman John Arancio (Oradell, N.J.) turned in a 2-for-5 showing at the dish, scoring a run and batting in two more.

Lesley worked runners to second and third in the top of the first, but Angelo snagged a come-backer his way to retire the batter and get off the field. The Lesley defense used an inning-ending double play to get out of the opening frame, making way for the visitors to tack up the first run of the day. A pair of Lynx got on base to start the inning, and the visitors utilized a sacrifice bunt to move both into scoring position. Agiorgousis would then score from third, tagging up on a fly ball sent deep enough to center off the bat of freshman second baseman Nicholas Ferragine (Randolph, N.J.).

Muratore appeared to be in a groove in the bottom of the second, striking out the Southern Vermont side in order. But the Mountaineers would get to him in the next inning, scoring four runs to take a lead they would not relinquish. D'Agnese tagged a soaring one-out double to left before a fielding error loaded the bases for SVC. Freshman Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.Y.) sent an RBI single into left, and Pingitore followed with a two-run hit the same way to put SVC on top 3-1. Sullivan then cranked a two-out double to right center, scoring Mason for the three-run lead.

Lesley once again used the sacrifice to get runners to second and third with just one out in the fourth, but Angelo worked out of the jam as he induced a fly out to shallow left-center and a grounder down to second. The Mountaineers then padded their lead in the bottom of the frame, as Mercuri turning a lead-off walk into the score. Southern Vermont loaded up the bases, and freshman Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice as Mercuri came home from third to make it a 4-1 game.

Angelo found himself in a bind once again in the fifth as three consecutive one-out hits loaded the bases for the Lynx. The Mountaineer junior persisted through it, however, as he sat down the next two batters on swinging third strikes to maintain the advantage.

Southern Vermont chalked up four more runs in the bottom of the fifth, doing so with four hits to go up by seven. Pingitore started the inning with an infield, and he then came around from second on a Sullivan base knock ripped through the left side. Sullivan moved around to third and tagged up to score on a sacrifice fly by Spatafore, and D'Agnese then hit a hot shot to short that was deflected far enough away for Arancio and junior designated hitter Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) to cross the plate.

Lesley got runners to second and third with two down in the eighth, but D'Agnese was able to cover a lot of ground to reel in a ball hit to the gap for the third out. Southern Vermont extended its separation in the home half of the inning with five runs on six hits, all the scores coming with two down.

Lesley was able to get one back in the ninth with help from a pinch hitter, freshman Daniel O'Donnell Jr. (Clark, N.J.) making the most of his call off the bench as he sent a lead-off double to deep left-center. Clark then singled through the right side, scoring O'Donnell Jr. with one down. Angelo retired the next two batters, ending the game with a ground ball to secure the win.

Southern Vermont is next in action on Wednesday, hosting Newbury College for a 1 p.m. league doubleheader. Lesley heads to Eastern Nazarene College the same day for non-conference play, first pitch of that single contest slated for 3:30 p.m.

Release courtesy Southern Vermont College Sports Information