NEWARK, N.J. – The Mount Saint Mary College baseball team (5-7) was unable to hold on to an early lead, eventually falling to Rutgers University-Newark (7-10), 7-5, Wednesday afternoon at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
The Knights tallied three runs in the top of the first for the early advantage in Wednesday's non-conference affair. Junior right fielder
Kristopher Fragomeni (Beacon, N.Y.) brought in the first run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and nobody out. Freshman designated hitter
Blake Keenan (Fishkill, N.Y.) then singled in another run in the next at bat to double the lead. Sophomore third baseman
Rob Peccerillo (Staten Island, N.Y.) knocked in the third run next, but did so by grounding into a double play.
The Knights built upon their lead in the next inning when sophomore shortstop
Steve Notaro (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a single to center to push the lead to 4-0. Notaro struck again in the fourth with another RBI single to give the Knights a five-run lead.
The Scarlet Raiders began to chip away with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Designated hitter Dominic Fazio brought in a run on a groundout, and then shortstop Ryan MacFarlane singled in the next run to cut the deficit to three runs.
Rutgers-Newark made its big push in the home half of the sixth. Left fielder Josh Cote singled to left with the bases loaded, plating two runs to get the Raiders within a run. Catcher Dan Lopez then doubled down the left field line, clearing the bases for another two runs to give the home team its first lead of the game at 6-5. The Raiders got one more for themselves on a Cote sacrifice fly in the eighth that brought MacFarlane around to score.
Michael Zibrin earned the win for the Scarlet Raiders after tossing six strong innings in relief. He allowed just one unearned run on five hits and five walks. Luis Rojas picked up a save with two hitless innings. Junior starter
Chris Wolfe (Beacon, N.Y.) was tagged with the loss, dropping him to 1-2 on the season. He allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out one.
MacFarlane had a big day for the Scarlet Raiders, going 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI. Cote brought in three runs and scored another himself in a 1-for-3 effort.
Notaro plated a pair and scored once after going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. Junior first baseman
Matt Cahill (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) improved his hitting streak to seven games with a 1-for-3 outing on Wednesday, scoring twice and swiping a bag in the process.
The Knights will next play tomorrow, April 2, in a newly scheduled game at Manhattanville College. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
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@MSMCKnights
