Offensive explosion gives Skip 500th win
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Twelve straight losses for Quinnipiac baseball
By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Publishing Editor
After family and friends cleared the way, seniors Kyle Nisson (Wallingford, Conn.) and Chris Migani (Orange, Conn.) wasted no time in hoisting the water cooler over head coach Dan “Skip” Gooley in a long awaited celebration. In a 17-3 victory over NEC opponent Mount St. Mary’s, Gooley earned his 500th career win as a head coach.
“We’ve been waiting to do that for a while,” Nisson said with a grin.
While the postgame bath was the cause of smiles around the dugout, the significance of the celebration was not lost on the manager.
“It seems that every hundred is special, and I was lucky enough to get to 500,” Gooley said. “Maybe somewhere along the line I’ll be lucky enough to get to 501.”
Previous to today’s historic win, Gooley had been stuck on 499 wins the since Quinnipiac defeated Fairleigh Dickinson on March 23. The Bobcats rode out a 13-game losing streak, dragging out Gooley’s milestone achievement. In light of the anticipation, the players felt more weight than a regular season match-up.
“It felt like a championship game at the end when we got that last out,” Nisson said.
While the final out proved the Bobcats’ will, the opening pitches could have easily turned it the other way. However, the explosiveness of the Bobcat offense and the dominant performance of Derek Lamacchia (Whitestone, N.Y.) on the mound quickly quieted the fears of dropping another game.
The Bobcats immediately jumped on the offerings from Mount St. Mary’s starter Karl Lamont. Jesse Ullrich (Orange, Conn.) reached base on a fielder’s choice and after advancing to second base on a balk, came around to score the game’s first run to the tune of a Nisson single. A batter later, Nic Civale (East Windsor, Conn.) drove in Nisson.
The next frame only furthered the gap which Mount St. Mary’s would not close. A bases loaded walk to Ullrich brought Forrest Dwyer (Wakefield, R.I.) home, followed by Vincent Guglietti’s (East Haven, Conn.) right field single that drove in Ullrich to give the Bobcats the 4-0 lead. After a Nisson RBI single, Lamont was pulled for Chris Del Vecchio. Despite the fresh arm, the Bobcat bats could not be stopped from driving in three more runs before the second inning was in the books.
Nisson paved the way for the Quinnipiac offense, going 5-for-6 on the day with four RBIs. Sophomore Zak Palmer (Mahwah, N.J.) put together a statistical dream as he would not be retired. Palmer went 5-for-5, walked once and batted in two.
While six of the runs scored off the bats of Nisson and Palmer, the rest of the lineup got in on the action. Dwyer and Civale each earned three RBIs, Scott Donaghue (Marlboro, N.J.) knocked in two, and Ullrich, Guglietti and Mike Blumenthal (Dix Hill, N.Y.) had one apiece.
“The offensive boost was definitely big,” Lamacchia said of the run support. “Hopefully we can keep that up throughout the weekend series and definitely give our hitters some confidence going into games further down the road.”
While Lamacchia praised the offensive end of the game, his performance held the outing together. Lamacchia gave up three runs on seven hits, walked two, struck out eight and retired the first six batters he faced. The only real trouble he faced was in the seventh when three players crossed the plate. The win was Lamacchia’s first of the year, bumping his record up to 1-5.
The coinciding success of the offense, defense and the pitching has proved to be a point of difficulty for the Bobcats thus far this season, but Gooley was pleased by his team’s promising play.
“Today we just happened to put everything together,” Gooley said. “It was great.”
All aspects of the game clicking for the Quinnipiac baseball team (4-26, 3-14 NEC) comes with great timing as this win serves as the first of a four game series against Mount St. Mary’s (11-25, 4-13 NEC). The first pitch of Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“We’re looking to be able to turn it around and win again tomorrow,” Gooley said. “Again, one game at a time. One inning, one pitch at a time.”
As the sun sets on a day that Gooley and the Bobcats won’t soon forget, they know the task for the rest of the series is just to get that next win, and the skipper will cherish that one just as much as the one that propelled him to another milestone.
“They’re all special,” he said. “Every individual game is special.”
Regardless of the meaning of each outing, Gooley can now say that 500 of those unique games shine far above the rest.
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Late comeback not enough for baseball
By Giovanni Mio, QBSN Staff Writer
After scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth on six straight walks and a wild pitch, Quinnipiac (3-26, 2-14 NEC) still didn’t have enough to beat Rhode Island (17-14), as it fell 8-6 at the QU Baseball Field Tuesday afternoon.
Trailing 8-1 entering their final half-inning, the Bobcats started to play the patient game and wait for their first strike. Fortunately, Ram freshman pitcher Brendan Doonan couldn’t find the plate, throwing 11 straight balls that resulted in three walks. Doonan got pulled for junior Matt Young who walked two more Bobcats consecutively before being pulled for junior Mike Bradstreet.
“The game is never over,” said head coach Dan Gooley. “We used pretty much our entire bullpen, and that was what the game was decided on.”
Three of the five runs in the half-inning came from RBI walks. The other two were scored on a single from sophomore catcher Christopher Caldari (Planview, N.Y.) and a wild pitch.
Gooley will go for his 500th career win a 14th time as the Bobcats will host NEC rival Mount St. Mary’s for four games this weekend at QU Baseball Field, starting Friday at 3 p.m.
“We have solid good line pitching,” said Gooley. “We competed and battled back, and when you do those types of things, you can win on an everyday basis.”
Rhode Island took an early 5-0 lead after two innings, rocking Bobcats freshman starter Matthew Lorenzetti (Marlboro, N.J.). The next four relievers that came after Lorenzetti shut out the Rams for the next six innings.
“There were five left-handers out of nine on the card today, so it was a perfect situation for [Matt] DeRosa to come in to,” said Gooley. “The kid [Kevin] Adler struggled a little bit today, but if we played better defense, we would’ve came out of the inning only giving up one run.”
Sophomore pitcher Kevin Adler (Marietta, Ga.) pitched the ninth inning for the Bobcats and gave up two earned runs to Rhode Island.
Freshman Vincent Guglietti (East Haven, Conn.) hit his first career home run that was the first run scored for the Bobcats in the game in the bottom of the seventh.
“He’s swung the bat pretty good well throughout the year,” said Gooley. “He’s got good power, he’s young, and is learning how to handle pitching at this level. That really is a big difference.”
Liam O’Sullivan, the Ram starter, gave up only one earned run in six and a third innings of work and recorded his third win of the season. He’s 3-0 with a 2.92 ERA this year.
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Twelve straight losses for Quinnipiac baseball
By Thomas Albanese, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac baseball team suffered its twelfth straight loss to the University of Connecticut by a final score of 12-7 at the home Monday afternoon.
Quinnipiac’s offensive attack was led by Scott Donaghue (Marlboro, N.J.) who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and scored two runs and Kyle Nisson (Wallingford, Conn.) going 3-for-5 with tworuns batted in and touched home plate once as well.
The Connecticut Huskies held an early 2-1 advantage over the Bobcats, but two homeruns by junior LJ Mazzilli (Greenwich, Conn.) and freshman Jon Testani (Monroe, Conn.) gave Connecticut a 5-1 lead over the Bobcats moving into the bottom of the third inning.
The Bobcats kept fighting back for the next two innings against Connecticut’s starting pitcher, Jared Dettmann (Somerset, Wis.). They cut the Huskie’s lead to 5-4 thanks to Zak Palmer’s (Mahway, N.J.) RBI double, and another double and a long homerun ball off the bat of Donaghue, which was the first of his young college career.
From there, Connecticut ran away from the Bobcats, scoring six runs in the top of the sixth inning. After three consecutive singles to open the inning, walks were issued by Quinnipiac’s George Dummar (Branford, Conn.) to junior Billy Ferriter and senior Tim Martin, giving the Huskies a 7-4 lead. The big blow came from sophomore Tom Verdi who delivered a three-run double that later gave the University of Connecticut a strong 11-4 lead.
“We got ourselves into trouble in the sixth inning when they got two hits, and that was when we brought Dummar into the game, which was a very tough situation for him,” said Gooley.
In the bottom of the sixth, Nisson responded with an RBI single, which scored Jesse Ullrich (Orange, Conn.), pulling Quinnipiac to 11-5. Connecticut came back at the Bobcats with a run in the top of the seventh inning on a RBI single to centerfield off the bat of Ferriter. The Bobcats earned two more runs on a Mike Blumenthal (Dix Hills, N.Y.) single to bring the score to 12-7 where it would stay.
Because of Quinnipiac loss, Dan Gooley remains stuck on career victory 499 as a manager.
The Bobcats will try to write Gooley into history again when they return to action on Tuesday, April 10 as they host the University of Rhode Island Rams in another non-conference match-up at 3 p.m.
QU drops second game of doubleheader to FDU
By Giovanni Mio, QBSN Staff Writer
Fairleigh Dickinson senior pitcher Mike Eliasen threw eight innings of two-run ball, as the Quinnipiac Bobcats fell to the Knights 11-2 in the second game of a Saturday’s doubleheader. The Bobcats dropped the first game in a 5-3 contest.
Eliasen only gave up four hits and struck out three for the Knights (7-11, 4-4 NEC). After the win, he’s 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA this season.
“He’s a competitive kid,” said head coach Dan “Skip” Gooley. “When you get a positional player to play three games and goes eight innings plus, you got to tip your hat to the kid.”
Gooley is still looking for his 500th career win as a manager. He’ll try to get the win when the Bobcats travel to Fairfield to play against the Stags on Tuesday, March 27 at 3 p.m.
“I haven’t felt any pressure from it,” said Gooley. “I’ve been coaching since 1971. It’s always about the next pitch, next day for me…Burt Kahn once said some you win, some you lose, and some you get rained out, but you dress for them all and that’s what it’s really all about.”
Quinnipiac’s (3-15, 2-6 NEC) two runs came in the eighth inning, scored by junior Jesse Ullrich (Orange, Conn.) and freshman Vincent Guglietti (East Haven, Conn.).
Sophomore pitcher Nick Fabrizio (Peabody, Mass.) started for Quinnipiac and gave up three earned runs in three innings while striking out four. He falls to 0-3 on the season with a 7.98 ERA.
“Baseball is a game of jacks,” said Gooley. “We relieve heavily on our pitching side of the house.”
Five Knights received two hits in the game, including freshman Ryan MacDonald, who leads the team with a .500 average.
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QU baseball and FDU split doubleheader
By Marty Joseph, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac baseball team split Friday’s doubleheader dropping the first game, 8-4 followed by an 11-4 win against Fairleigh Dickinson. Senior Gabe Guerino (Milford, Conn.) drove in five runs in game two of the afternoon, going 3-for-3 with a homerun. Spencer Kane (Wolcott, Conn.) improved to 2-2 on the season, giving up four runs on eight hits over seven innings.
The Bobcats (3-13, 2-4 NEC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kyle Nisson (Wallingford, Conn.), Zak Palmer (Mahwah, N.J.) and Guerino all drove in runs in the inning.
The Knights (5-11-1, 2-4 NEC) were able to tie the game up at 4-4, but Kane finished the game strong only allowing three base runners over the final four innings. With Kane silencing the bats of the Knights, the Bobcats jumped on FDU’s pitching and pulled away on the scoreboard.
Neil Mammele (Madison, Conn.) was 2-for-3 on the afternoon highlighted by an RBI triple in the third inning to drive in Guerino.
Guerino’s homerun came in the fourth inning and was the first homerun of the season for the Bobcats. The three-run homerun was followed by a sacrifice fly from Chris Calderi (Plainview, N.Y.) to put the Bobcats up 9-4.
The Bobcats added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth with RBIs from Guerino and Brian Ruditys (Brookwyn, Pa.).
Quinnipiac and Fairleigh Dickinson are right back at it tomorrow afternoon with another doubleheader. A seven-inning game will take place at 1 p.m. followed by a nine-inning game starting a half an hour after the completion of the first game at the Quinnipiac Baseball Field in Hamden, Conn.
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Birdsall No-Hits Hawks
By Ben Dias, QBSN Staff Writer
History was made in Hamden on Saturday as Quinnipiac junior hurler Kyle Birdsall, threw a seven-inning no-hitter, the first in school history, to lead the Bobcats to a 6-0 victory over Monmouth in the first game of a Northeast Conference doubleheader. However, the Monmouth bats woke up and stole game two from the Bobcats with 8-2 victory. With the two game split Quinnipiac moves to 13-13 overall and 9-6 in NEC play and drop to 2-6 at home, while the Hawks are 15-15 overall and 10-5 in league play.
Birdsall was in command of all his pitches, a masterful performance as he struck out a season high and career best 12 batters. With the no-hitter Birdsall received his second complete game of the season.
Birdsall was on fire right from the first pitch as he retired Monmouth’s top three hitters in order in the first inning. Birdsall got Hawks leadoff man, right fielder Jamie Rosenkranz to hit a sharp grounder to Bobcats senior shortstop Mickey Amanti for the first out. Birdsall then got Hawks freshman shortstop Jake Gronsky and senior second basemen Ryan Terry behind in the count and shut the door, striking them out to retire the side.
Birdsall got some run support in the first inning. Bobcats senior leadoff hitter Mickey Amanti rocketed a single to left field off of Hawks starter sophomore right hander Pat Light. Senior center fielder, Ben Farina blasted a single through the left side. With one out, clean up hitter Joe Poletsky walked loading the bases. Junior catcher Kyle Nisson reached on fielder’s choice, with Polestky out at second, Ben Farina advanced to third and Amanti raced home scoring the Bobcats first run. Senior designated hitter, Mike Bartlett blasted a single to left field, scoring Farina from third with the Bobcats second run of the inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, freshman left fielder Zak Palmer rifled a single to left, scoring Nisson from third with the third run of the inning.
Birdsall got some stellar defensive play in the second inning when Hawks junior left fielder, Ed Martin lofted a shallow fly ball to center field. Bobcats senior center fielder, Ben Farina took off towards the infield and made a shoe-string catch to end the inning.
The Bobcats added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Hawks starter Light got the first two batters of the inning retired, but could not do much after that. Ben Farina blasted the first pitch he saw from Light for a double to the right field wall. Three pitches later, junior second basemen, Chris Migani blasted a home run over the left field fence on hanging curveball from Light, making the score 5-0. Migani’s homerun was his third of the season.
Birdsall cruised through the third and fourth innings, tallying 4 strike outs to the next six Hawks hitters. In the third inning Birdsall struck out the side, retiring Hawks first basemen Owen Stewart, catcher Tim Bickford and centerfielder Josh Boyd in order tallying his strikeout total to 7 through 3 innings. Pat Light, the Hawks sophomore hurler got through the third and 4th innings without surrendering a run to the potent Bobcats lineup.
Birdsall retired the side again in top of the fifth inning. He had a close call as Hawks senior designated hitter, Nick Pulsonetti hit a chopper right back to the mound that Birdsall short-armed and threw in the dirt. Bobcats first baseman Gabe Guerino kept the no-hitter alive by stretching and making a wonderful pick in the dirt to retire Pulsonetti.
Junior right hander, Joe Loiodice replaced Light in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bobcats added another run, as Ben Farina walked, stole second and scored on a single through the left side from senior third basemen, Joe Poletsky.
Birdsall found some trouble in the top of the sixth inning when he walked Josh Boyd with two outs in the inning. Hawks bench player Anthony Lawrence who replaced leadoff man and starting right fielder Jaime Rosenkranz in the fifth inning, was then hit by Birdsall and suddenly two runners were on with two outs. This was the opportunity the Hawks were looking for but these were the only Hawks base runners Birsdall allowed on the day. Birdsall got through the inning unscaved, getting Monmouth shortstop Jake Gronsky to fly out to sophomore right fielder Ray Buckle to end the inning.
Birdsall ended the game in perfect fashion, getting Ryan Terry to ground out to Amanti at short. Birdsall then got Hawks third basemen, Danny Avella to strike out swinging on three straight pitches. Birdsall got Hawks designated hitter, Nick Pulsonetti to strike out looking to end the game. Birdsall stymied the Hawks hitters all day. With the no-hitter Birdsall cemented his name in the Quinnipiac record books.
Senior shortstop Mickey Amanti led the Bobcats with 2 hits in game one totaling his hitting streak to 15 games. Farina was 2 for 2 in game one with a single and a double, while also scoring three runs. Junior second basemen, Chris Migani led the Bobcats with 2 runs batted in, belting a home run in the second inning.
Birdsall commented on his performance after throwing the first no-hitter in school history. “It felt good to have everything working today.” “I started throwing a slider a couple days ago, I used it today and it worked really well,” said Birdsall.
“I was a little nervous towards the sixth inning. I had the perfect game going and I walked the kid, it was some relief, I guess you could say,” added Birdsall. Birdsall added, “When we got the final out, it was more relief, satisfying, we worked really hard and had a lot of clutch hits.” “I threw a no hitter in legion but this one was a lot better,” said Birdsall.
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Game Two of Doubleheader vs Monmouth Hawks
By Ben Dias, QBSN Staff Writer
In game two, Monmouth’s sophomore starter, Dan Smith stymied the Bobcats lineup earning his first win of the season. He threw a seven inning complete game gem surrendering only two runs. Smith allowed nine hits and struck out five. Bobcats sophomore right hander George Dummar struggled mightily giving up five runs in the first inning. Dummar only got shelled, throwing only a 1/3 of an inning and receiving his third loss of the season.
The Hawks bats blasted Dummar in the first. With one out in the inning, freshman shortstop Jake Gronsky roped a double down the left field line that trickled all the way to the wall. Senior second basemen Ryan Terry rifled a single to left, advancing Gronsky to third. Dummar then walked cleanup hitter Danny Avella on a 3-2 count. Hawks designated hitter, Chris Perret blasted a 3 run double to left center, scoring Gronsky, Terry and Avella and putting three runs on the scoreboard.
Dummar couldn’t get any hitters out, as junior left fielder Ed Martin rocketed a single to left and advanced to second on the throw and Perret scored from second to make it 4-0. First basemen Owen Stewart was hit by a pitch, and advanced to second on a single to left by catcher Cal Costanzo. On the single to left by Costanzo, Martin scored from third. Senior right hander, Andrew Rinaldi came in to relieve Dummar, and got the last two outs of the inning. But that was all the runs the Hawks needed.
Monmouth starter, Dan Smith cruised through the first inning, striking out senior Ben Farina on an overpowering fastball and getting junior second basemen Chris Migani to strike out looking on a pitch that painted the black. Smith got cleanup hitter Joe Poletsky to fly out to rightfielder Jaime Rosenkranz to end the inning.
Rinaldi held Monmouth scoreless in the second and third inning. He even got some run support in the bottom of the second when the Bobcats answered scoring a run of their own. Junior catcher Kyle Nisson singled to short. Senior designated hitter Mike Bartlett smacked a single down the right field line, advancing Nisson to third. Freshman left fielder Zak Palmer grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Palmer got a run batted in on the play when Nisson scored from third. Junior first basemen Gabe Guerino hit a weak pop up to second to end the inning.
The Hawks increased their lead to 7-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Center fielder, Josh Boyd led off the inning by rocketing a single to left center off Rinaldi. Leadoff batter junior right fielder Jaime Rosenkranz walked on three straight balls. Shortstop Jaime Gronsky laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing the runners into scoring position. Boyd scored on a wild pitch from Rinaldi and Ronzenkranz advanced to third increasing the score to 6-1. Hawks second basemen Ryan Terry walked and that was it for Rinaldi as he was pulled for freshman right hander Nick Fabrizio. Frabrizio surrendered a run on a sacrifice fly to Hawks cleanup hitter Danny Avella, scoring Rozenkranz from third increasing their lead to 8-1. Fabrizio got Chris Perret to ground out to shortstop Mickey Amanti to end the inning.
The Bobcats added their second and final run in the bottom of the fourth inning off of Hawks starter Smith. The first two hitters reached base for the Bobcats as cleanup hitter Joe Poletsky blasted a double to left center. Kyle Nisson singled to right, advancing Poletsky to third. Senior designated hitter, Mike Bartlett singled to short, scoring Poletsky. Smith surrendered a single to freshman left fielder Zak Plamer. Bartlett and Nisson advanced into scoring position. Smith got Ray Buckley to ground into a 1-2-3 double play getting Nisson out on the play. Nick Cavale pinch hit for Geurino and struck out swinging to end the inning.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth inning for both teams, junior righty Matt Siciliano relieved Nick Fabrizio on the mound for the Bobcats in the top of the seventh inning. Monmouth put the icing cake for game two when sophomore third basemen Danny Avella belted a solo shot over the scoreboard in center field.
Smith finished off the Bobcats in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ray Buckley stuck out looking and Nick Cavale grounded out to Hawks shortstop Jake Gronsky. Mickey Amanti reached on a fielding error by Avella at third and Ben Farina blasted a single up the middle. Amanti reached to third on the single back through the hole and Farina stole second to set up runners on second and third and two outs. The Bobcats rally was shut down when Smith closed the door, by getting Bobcats junior second basemen Chris Migani to fly out to right field to end the game.
For Monmouth, senior second basemen Ryan Terry and junior left fielder Ed martin both collected 2 hits in game two. Avella blasted his sixth homerun of the season in the seventh inning for the Hawks. Junior catcher Kyle Nisson and senior designated hitter Mike Bartlett led the Bobcats with two hits each, with Bartlett recording the only run batted in.
Bobcats head coach Dan Gooley commented on the game two loss. “We were a little soft in game two, but that kid for Monmouth [Smith] did a pretty good job against us,” Gooley said.
The Bobcats and Hawks will meet again Sunday in the series finale between the two NEC foes. Sunday, April 10, will be Katie Vashon Day in which Katie's sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, will be holding a bake sale to raise funds for the Katie Vashon Endowment at Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. The money raised allows for two children suffering from chronic illnesses and their families to spend one week each summer at this camp which was held close to Katie's heart. Katie Vashon was a senior from Hermon, Maine who worked in the Quinnipiac University Sports Information Department for four years before she suddenly passed away after a brief battle with leukemia in 2005.
After hosting Monmouth for the 4 game home stand, the Bobcats men’s baseball team will travel to Kingston, R.I. to take on the University of Rhode Island Rams in a key non-conference match-up on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Monmouth will also play a non-conference game when they head to Rider on Tuesday afternoon.
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Pioneers outduel Bobcats steal doubleheader
By Ben Dias, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats baseball team hosted in state and conference rival Sacred Heart Pioneers for a doubleheader on Saturday. Coming in to the home stand with Sacred Heart, the Bobcats were looking to re-establish the momentum they had gained before their 14-0 blowout shutout loss to rival Yale.
Previously, the Bobcats had swept a 4 game series on the road with Mt. St. Mary’s and were looking to elevate their confidence and add to their strong NEC record of 7-1. The Bobcats offense struggled mightily in both games and the Pioneers swept the doubleheader Saturday winning game one 4-2 and game two 2-0. With the losses the Bobcats, drop to 11-9 overall and 7-3 in NEC play while Sacred Heart improves to 11-12 overall and 4- 6 in league play.
In game one, Bobcats sophomore righty Derek Lamacchia got the start and pitched well going 8 2/3 innings, surrendering two runs on eleven hits and striking out five. Sacred Heart’s sophomore right hander, Troy Scribner allowed six hits in six scoreless innings and struck out two. The Bobcats got banged out eleven hits but could not score when they had runners in scoring position. Sacred Heart got timely hitting from the top of their lineup and had solid pitching throughout the game.
The Pioneers got their offense rolling in the third inning when senior outfielder, Steve Tedesco doubled down the left field line. Junior infielder Hunter Phillips put down a perfectly executed bunt single advancing Tedesco to third with no outs in the inning. With runners on the corners and no outs in the inning, Lamacchia got Pioneers senior left fielder JJ Edwards to hit a sharp grounder to Bobcats second baseman Chris Migani who flipped the ball to shortstop Mickey Amanti and fired to first baseman Gabe Guerino resulting in a four-six-three double play. With the double play Tedesco came home to score the Pioneers first run. The damage was done as the Pioneers held their first lead of the game at 1-0.
In the bottom of the third the Bobcats had their chance to tie the score at 1. With one out in the inning, senior centerfielder Ben Farina singled to right and advanced to second when junior second basemen, Chris Migani rifled a single through the right side. With runners on first and second, third baseman Joe Poletsky got a fastball out over the plate and delivered a single through the right side, loading the bases with 1 out in the inning. However, the Bobcats could not capitalize with the bases loaded, as senior Mike Bartlett fouled out to Pioneers senior third baseman MJ Schifano and junior catcher Kyle Nisson lined out to second base to end the inning leaving three runners on base.
Sacred Heart added to their lead in the top of the fifth, when Schifano rocketed a single through the right side off of Lamacchia. Schifano advanced to second on a passed ball. Pioneers leadoff hitter, Steve Tedesco walked and Hunter Phillips reached on a fielder's choice when Bobcats senior shortstop Mickey Amanti had a tough play in the hole, threw to second basemen Migani, who tagged the bag but was taken out by Tedesco and Schifano advanced to third. Migani’s throw to first sailed wide of Guerino, and Schifano scored on the throwing error to increase lead to 2-0. The Pioneers JJ Edwards grounded into a four-six-three double play to end the inning and keeping the lead at 2-0.
The next three innings remained as scoreless as the Sacred Heart could not add to their lead and the Bobcats could not get any runs on the scoreboard. This was due to good pitching from the starters Scribner and Lamacchia.
Going into the bottom of the ninth the Bobcats were in a need of rally. Pioneers junior righty reliever, Chris Dionisio who came in for Scribner threw two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, but started off the ninth by giving up two walks to Bobcats seniors Joe Poletsky and Mike Bartlett. With runners on first and second, Kyle Nisson laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing runners into scoring position. Freshman left fielder Zak Palmer struck out, leaving it up to junior first baseman Gabe Guerino to come through with two outs and the game on the line. Guerino delivered the clutch hit, rifling a line drive single to right field, driving in Bartlett and Poletsky and tying the game at 2.
Extra innings was needed to settle the tie. Bobcats senior righty reliever, Andrew Rinaldi who came in the ninth in relief of Lamaccia had not given up a run in his last five innings. Rinaldi was tagged for two runs in the top of the tenth inning. With one out, Pioneers left fielder, JJ Edwards singled to center off of Rinaldi threw four straight balls to Rob Griffith. With two on and one out, Pioneers sophomore right fielder Dave Boisture reached on a fielder’s choice. With the throw, the lead runner Edwards advanced to third and scored on a throwing error by second baseman Magani. The Pioneers tacked on an insurance run when third basemen Chris Whittemore singled through the left side, scoring Boisture from third and increasing lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the tenth, the Bobcats were retired in order by Pioneers MJ Schifano who closed the door, pitching 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings after coming in relief of Dionisio in the 8th inning.
Schifano (1-1) got the win for the Pioneers and Rinaldi (0-2) took the hard fought loss for the Bobcats. Migani led the Bobcats with 3 hits, while Ben Farina and Poletsky had a solid game collecting two hits each. For the Pioneers it was leadoff hitter, Tedesco who had 3 hits and one run scored. Quinnipiac head coach Dan Gooley commented on Tedesco’s talents. "He's the kind of kid who puts the ball in play and uses his legs, he's got great running ability," Gooley said.
Game two’s seven inning thriller, was a pitcher’s duel between the Bobcats Kyle Birdsall and the Pioneers Nick Leiningen. Looking to avenge game one’s loss, the Bobcats got a strong performance from Birdsall, a senior right-hander who went the distance throwing a seven inning complete game gem, giving up one run on three hits and striking out two. Sacred Heart’s freshman left-hander Leiningen out-dueled Birdsall, throwing a complete game three hitter, allowing two walks and striking out one batter. Birdsall and Leiningen frustrated the opposing lineups all game, by keeping the hitters off balance with a mix of well executed pitches and good command.
The first and only run of game two was scored in the top of the seventh inning when leadoff batter, sophomore Hunter Phillips blasted a single off Birdsall through the hole in the left side. The speed demon Phillips advanced to second on senior JJ Edwards sacrifice bunt. Rob Griffith, a junior first basemen rocketed a single past Bobcats shortstop Mickey Amanti’s glove and into the outfield. Sophomore right fielder Dave Boisture walked, loading the bases for the Pioneers to take the lead in a scoreless game. Pioneers sophomore shortstop John Murphy hit a sac fly to Bobcats center fielder Ben Farina, scoring Phillips from third with the first and only run. In the bottom of the seventh, Leiningen retired the Bobcats in order. Leiningen got Bobcats cleanup batter Joe Poletsky to ground out to first. Kyle Nisson fouled out to right and senior designated hitter Mike Bartlett grounded out to second to end the game. The 1-0 win gave Leiningen his second of the year and gave the Pioneers the two game sweep.
Quinnipiac head coach Dan Gooley commented after the game about his teams struggles to drive in runs against the Sacred Heart pitching. "They did a real good job of changing speeds and location," Gooley said. "We've really swung the bats very good all year long, that's the lowest amount of runs in 16 innings that we've had.”
The two teams complete their four game set on Sunday afternoon with another doubleheader. The first game will be a seven-inning game at 12:00 pm, followed by a nine-inning game.
