PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Southern Connecticut State University baseball split a Northeast 10 Conference Southwest Division doubleheader at Pace, winning the first game 12-3 before falling in the second game, 2-0. The Owls go to 24-9 overall and 8-5 in the NE10.
In the first game,
Mike DeMartino was 4-for-5 with six RBI with a grand slam in the fifth inning. DeMartino missed the cycle by a triple as he also had a pair of singles and a double.
Andrew Eng was 3-for-5 with two doubles and four runs scored while
Zach Bedryczuk was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBI.
Alec Erskine went the distance on the mound for his second-straight complete game. Erskine gave up two runs in the first, and another in the ninth. Outside of the first and last inning, Erskine didn't allow a runner to reach second base and also retired 13-straight batters. He finished with three runs allowed on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
The Owls got on the board in the first inning on a RBI single by
Connor Goggin that scored
Tony Zambito before DeMartino drove in
Andrew Eng. In the third, it was DeMartino again, this time driving home
Billy Sullivan who led off the inning with a single.
In the fifth, Sullivan walked to lead-off the inning before Eng drove a ball down the right-field line for a double, moving Sullivan to third. After Goggin walked, the stage was set for DeMartino who blasted his fifth home run of the season deep over the right-center field wall for a grand slam, giving the Owls a 7-2 lead.
Southern pushed across four more runs in the seventh inning. Eng led off the inning with a single before Goggin and DeMartino were both retired. After
Jack Drewry worked a walk, Dave Christoforo doubled to left to score Eng before Bedryczuk followed with his first home run of the season to give Southern an 11-2 lead. In the eighth, Eng led-off with his second double of the game before Goggin flew out and DeMartino singled for his fourth hit of the afternoon. Drewry was hit by a pitch before Christoforo struck out. Bedryczuk then walked to force Eng home. In the ninth, Erskine retired the first two batters of the inning before giving up back-to-back hits to account for Pace's third run.
In the second game,
Joe Nemchek turned in a solid out, holding Pace to two runs on six hits over six innings while striking out four. The Owls offense never got going in this one as they were held scoreless while collecting just two hits – one apiece by Sullivan and
Chad Fedeli.
The Owls and Setters meet again on Sunday, Apr. 24 with a doubleheader at Pace's Peter X. Finnerty Field at 1 p.m.
