Pareres Quality Start Undone by Errors, Baseball Falls 2-1 to ECC Rival Bridgeport
Box Score WEST HAVEN, CONN. (May 2, 2012) – Freshman Joseph Pareres (Bronxville, N.Y.) lasted seven innings without allowing an earned run but a pair of unearned scores left the Mercy College baseball team with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of East Coast Conference rival the University of Bridgeport late Wednesday night at West Haven High School.
Bridgeport improves to 14-18 overall and 10-11 in ECC play while Mercy drops to 7-37 (4-20).
No runners advanced past second base until the bottom of the third, when Bridgeport scored a run on an error with two outs to go up 1-0. The Mercy offense was not about to let that decide the game, however, loading the bases with no outs and scoring one as freshman designated hitter Chris Salvo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) reached on an error.
The Purple Knights nearly regained the lead in the next inning as they loaded the bases with two outs but Pareres came up with a big strikeout to get out of the frame unscathed. The Mavericks had a chance of their own in the top of the fifth as sophomore catcher John Casten (Walden, N.Y.) drew a walk to lead off and advanced to third base on the next two at-bats, but did not come home for the go-ahead run.
Bridgeport looked ready to regain the lead in the sixth with a leadoff single, after which the runner advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but junior right fielder Andrew Bock (Malverne, N.Y.) pulled down the fly out and gunned the runner down at home for the double play to get out of the inning.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, junior designated hitter Mike Olszyk (Hamden, Conn.) put the Purple Lions ahead with a double down the line that the left fielder mishandled, allowing the go-ahead run to score on the error and Mercy could not get enough going in the late inning for a rally.
Freshman first baseman Bryan Greig (New City, N.Y.) and Bock led the Mavericks with two hits apiece as Bock also stole a base. Pareres took the loss despite allowing no earned runs on six hits and five walks while striking out four over seven innings. Senior Walter Kowalczyk (Valhalla, N.Y.) tossed an inning in relief, hitting a batter and walking another but whiffing two.
Senior right fielder Matt Ranaudo (Milford, Conn.) went 1-3 with a walk and run for the Purple Knights while senior third baseman Ryan Barba (Stratford, Conn.) was 2-4. Senior Kyle Trudeau (Branford, Conn.) lasted three innings in the start, surrendering two hits and a walk while striking out two. Junior Garret Rogers (Rennselear, N.Y.) earned the win pitching the sixth and seventh innings and allowing only one baserunner on a hit-by-pitch while punching out four. Sophomore Ryan Garcia (Franklin Square, N.Y.) picked up the save with a scoreless two-inning effort, allowing just one hit while striking out three.
Head Coach Bob Greiner and the Mavericks will close out their season on Saturday, May 5 as they host Dominican (N.Y.) College (23-24) in a doubleheader, with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The Mavericks will also celebrate Senior Day as they bid farewell to Kowalczyk, Chuck DeHart (Staten Island, N.Y.), Tyler Savin (Wantagh, N.Y.), Joseph Ganz (Mastic, N.Y.) and Billy Dring (Mahopac, N.Y.).
