Post Goes 6-for-7 as Baseball Sweeps Twin Bill Against Queens
Box Score FLUSHING, N.Y. (Mar. 22, 2014) – Senior Ken Post (Closter, N.J. / St. Joseph's Regional) went 6-for-7 with three runs scored and one RBI as the Mercy College baseball team swept a twin bill against the Knights of Queens College. The Mavericks improve to 6-8 overall and 3-0 in the East Coast Conference while the Knights fall to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the ECC.
Game #1: Mercy 5, Queens 3
Queens scored the first run of the day after the Knights batter reached on an error. Mercy responded after loading the bases on a walk by junior Anthony McQuade (Lindenhurst, N.Y. / St. John the Baptist (Chestnut Hill College) as senior Jesus Jaile (Hartsdale, N.Y. / Fordham Prep (NJIT) scored Post on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. The Mavericks took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the third as McQuade singled to score sophomore Scott Hagan (Mamaroneck, N.Y. / Mamaroneck (SUNY Binghamton), who had doubled to get on base.
Mercy would hold a 3-1 lead as the Knights tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth on back-to-back RBI. The Mavericks answered in the bottom half of the inning as freshman Michael Grudzinski (Islip, N.Y. / Islip) bunted to reach and junior Giovanni Lasalandra (Warwick, N.Y. / Warwick Valley) singled to load the bases with Post coming to bat. Post would hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Dan Cleary (Smithtown, N.Y. / St. Anthony's) and take a 4-3 lead.
Junior Sal Palumbo (Medford, N.Y. / Patchogue-Medford) singled in the seventh to add an insurance run, while junior Vinny Luppino (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. / Bergen Tech (Ramapo College) pitched the final three innings to earn the save. Luppino allowed only one hit while striking out three batters in the final innings.
For Mercy, McQuade finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Grudzinski went 2-for-4. Freshman Matt Nalbone (Islip, N.Y. / Islip) got the win for the Mavericks.
Game #2: Mercy 7, Queens 6
The Mavericks bookended Game Two, scoring a lion's share of their runs in the bottom of the first and bottom of the seventh. Queens jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after two errors allowed the Knights to score from second.
Mercy would answer in the bottom half of the inning as poor defensive play by the Knights allowed the Mavericks to score all three runs without collecting a single RBI. McQuade loaded the bases on a fielder's choice and Post scored on a throwing error by the catcher. After McQuade stole second, junior Chris Salvo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. / Lakeland) reached base on an error by the shortstop, while McQuade and Hagan then scored on a throwing error by the shortstop in the same play. Mercy led 3-1 after one full inning.
Queens would then score in the second, third, fourth and fifth to take a 6-4 lead before the Mavericks had their last licks in the bottom seventh. The Mavericks finished strong, scoring three runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning.
Post singled to lead off the inning and Hagan would then double to score DeFelippis, who pinch ran for Hagan. After McQuade grounded out to second to move Hagan over, Jaile singled in the game-tying run for Hagan. Salvo came to the plate and singled to right but was able to reach second on the bad throw, while Jaile also advanced two bases.
On the very next pitch, the Knights allowed Jaile to score the winning run on a wild pitch.
For Mercy, Post finished 4-for-4 with a run scored while Hagan went 2-for-4 with two run scored and an RBI. Salvo went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Jaile finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
Head Coach Bob Greiner, and the Mavericks return to action tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 23, to close out the four-game series with the Knights at 12:00 p.m.
