AMSTERDAM, N.Y. – A six-run rally in the bottom of the eighth fueled Southern Vermont College (12-16) to a 9-5 victory over Mount Saint Mary College (11-17) Tuesday evening at Shuttlesworth Field.
The Knights led for the entirety of the game until the Mountaineers strung together five hits and drew two walks to bring in six runs in the home half of the eighth. After a single and a sacrifice fly brought in two runs to tie the game, the Mountaineers got three extra-base hits in a row, a triple, a double, and then one more triple, to bring in four runs for the 9-5 final. Southern Vermont got the Knights to go down in order in the ninth to secure the victory.
It was all Mount Saint Mary in the early going of Tuesday's non-conference matchup, as the Knights quickly got on the board on an RBI groundout by senior first baseman
Andrew Conn (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) that put them up, 1-0.
Junior left fielder
Matt Cahill (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) doubled with one away in the third, then moved up to third on a wild pitch. After senior right fielder
Ryan Atkins (Wallkill, N.Y.) walked to put runners on the corners, Conn came through once again, but this time with an RBI double down the right-field line to double the Knights' lead. Junior designated hitter
Kristopher Fragomeni (Beacon, N.Y.) then brought in Atkins on a fielder's choice to put the Knights up by three.
For the third time in the game, the Knights brought in a run on a groundout. In the top of the fourth, sophomore second baseman
Louis Rivera (Linden, N.J.) brought in sophomore shortstop
Jimmy Papineau (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) from third on a ground ball to second, giving the Knights a 4-0 advantage.
The Knights improved upon their lead once again in the sixth. Papineau singled up the middle with two away to keep the inning alive, and then moved up to third on back-to-back wild pitches. He then came in to score on a passed up, leaving the Knights up, 5-0, before Southern Vermont's bats started to wake up.
After five scoreless innings, sophomore starter
C.J. Szczesny (Syracuse, N.Y.) was relieved by sophomore
Stephan Sookdeo (Carmel, N.Y.). He immediately ran into trouble, allowing back-to-back doubles to bring in the first Mountaineer run of the game. He struck out the next batter, then got another to ground out to short, but the home team's third double of the inning brought in another run, leaving the Knights up, 5-2, after six.
The Knights threatened in the seventh when Atkins sacrificed runners over to second and third for the first out of the inning. Conn then put the ball in play, but the second baseman managed to throw the runner out at home to keep the Knights off the board in the inning. Freshman
Blake Keenan (Fishkill, N.Y.) then grounded out to end the inning.
Sookdeo was replaced by sophomore submariner
Tim Rice (Bellmore, N.Y.) to start the seventh. He forced back-to-back groundouts to start the inning, but designated hitter Niko D'Agnese managed to draw a walk to keep the inning alive. He then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, and was brought in on a single by center fielder Sal Sciara, cutting the Knights' lead to two.
The Knights failed to capitalize on having the bases loaded with just one away in the top of the eighth, missing out on some much-needed insurance runs. The Mountaineers responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning to eventually pull off the late comeback victory.
Chris Bradt earned the win in relief for the Mountaineers, tossing three innings of two-hit ball without allowing a run. Junior reliever
Kevin Riveiro (Malverne, N.Y.) who started the eighth inning on the hill for the Knights, suffered the loss after yielding four runs without recording an out.
Sciara hit 4-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs and two doubles out of the leadoff spot for the Mountaineers on Tuesday. D'Agnese batted 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and two RBIs out of the nine-hole.
Papineau went 2-for-3 and scored twice to pace the Knights. Conn went just 1-for-5, but knocked in a team-best two runs in the game. Cahill hit 1-for-4 with two runs scored.
The Knights will conclude their season tomorrow, April 29, when they face off with SUNY Oneonta in a non-conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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@MSMCKnights
