WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College baseball team (7-7) strung four runs together in the bottom of the fifth to lead the Knights to a 6-4 victory over Manhattanville College (10-10) Wednesday evening at Dutchess Stadium.
Sophomore second baseman
Louis Rivera (Linden, N.J.) and junior left fielder
Matt Cahill (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) tallied back-to-back singles to open the home half of the fifth, chasing Manhattanville starter William Tempone while still trailing, 3-2. With the new pitcher now on the hill, the Knights wasted no time putting themselves in position to take the lead by executing a double steal to put runners on second and third. Junior right fielder
Kristopher Fragomeni (Beacon, N.Y.) then grounded out to third for the first out, keeping Rivera and Cahill at bay for the time being.
Sophomore shortstop
Steve Notaro (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a high chopper over the pitcher and between the shortstop and second baseman, bringing in Rivera on the infield single. As the play continued, Manhattanville's shortstop and second baseman got crossed up, and the second baseman threw the ball well wide of the plate, allowing Cahill to score as well to give the Knights a 4-3 lead. Freshman first baseman
Blake Keenan (Fishkill, N.Y.) walked to put runners on first and second before sophomore third baseman
Rob Peccerillo (Staten Island, N.Y.) struck out for the second out of the inning. Notaro and Keenan each moved up on a passed ball during the next at bat. Then, the pitcher threw one in the dirt that got past the catcher, allowing Notaro to take home. Attempting to catch Notaro at the plate, the catcher threw home, but hit Notaro in the face with the ball, causing it to deflect up the first-base line and give Keenan the opportunity to score and put the Knights up, 6-3.
The Knights had trailed, 3-0, heading into the bottom of the fourth, after allowing a run in each of the second, third and fourth innings. Peccerillo knocked in a run on a single to left to bring home the Knights' first run of the game. Keenan scored later in the inning on groundout by freshman designated hitter
Louis DeAngelis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to get the Knights within one at 3-2.
Both the Knights' and Valiants' pitching settled down up until the top of the ninth inning. Sophomore reliever
Kevin Duffy (Wallingford, Conn.) came on for the save opportunity with the Knights leading by three runs with three outs remaining. Duffy got the first batter out on one pitch after left fielder Jake McGrath lined out to short for the first out. Duffy then hit shortstop Jordanis Nunez with a pitch to put him on base. He then got third baseman Robbie Lynch to pop up to third for the second out. After second baseman Joe Anselmi walked to put runners on first and second, an error by Rivera at second on what would have been the final out brought Nunez in to score and keep the Valiant threat alive. Duffy then took care of business and struck out designated hitter Joe Booker to earn the save.
Sophomore reliever
Stephan Sookdeo (Carmel, N.Y.) improved to 1-0 after picking up the win in a game that saw eight different Knight pitchers. Sookdeo allowed a hit and three walks in the fifth inning, but worked out of the jam without yielding a run. Tempone suffered the loss for Manhattanville after allowing four runs (three earned) in four-plus innings of work.
Notaro went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored before leaving the game after the fifth inning. Cahill's hitting streak moves to nine games with his 1-for-5 outing on Wednesday. Keenan is proving himself to have a great eye at the plate, going 0-for-2, but drawing two walks to keep his on-base percentage at .500 for the season. He has walked seven times in the past three games. He also scored twice in the win.
Vincenzo Pepe went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs for Manhattanville on Wednesday. Nunez hit 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Booker batted 2-for-5.
Coming off back-to-back non-conference wins over Manhattanville, the Knights get back to Skyline Conference play on Saturday, April 11, as the hit the road for a doubleheader against Farmingdale State College. Game one of the twinbill is set to begin at 12 p.m.
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