Snyder Tosses Seven Strong Innings as Baseball Takes on St. Thomas Aquinas in ECC Opener
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 24, 2016) – Despite seven innings pitched with no earned runs allowed by graduate student Matt Snyder (Albany, N.Y./University of Kentucky) and two RBI from senior Scott Hagan (Mamaroneck, N.Y./SUNY Binghamton), the Mercy College baseball team dropped a 4-3 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas College in their ECC opener on Thursday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (7-10, 0-1 ECC) see their three-game winning streak come to an end, while the Spartans (13-5, 1-0 ECC) have won three of their last four games.
Snyder tossed the first seven innings allowing only five hits while striking out seven batters to pick up the no-decision. Hagan went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a triple, while sophomore Bryan Torres (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows) batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Junior Randal Mendez (New York, N.Y./Coppin State University) went 2-for-4 and junior James Waters (Troy, N.Y./Fulton Montgomery CC) went 1-for-2 off the bench with a triple. Junior Marc Medico (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) came in relief of Snyder and pitched the final two innings with three earned runs allowed to take the loss.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Anthony Morris who went the first eight innings with one earned run allowed along with six strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 3-1 on the year. Tyler Patane went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
The first inning saw Snyder work around a single to keep the Spartans off the board after their first at-bat. The Mavericks responded by scoring on an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning to take a 1-0 lead. Torres led off the inning with a single, later stole second and was advanced to third on a sophomore Nick Arcabascio (Brooklyn, N.Y./Quinnipiac University) groundout. After a strikeout, Torres would score on a passed ball that allowed junior Charles Fina (Kingston, N.Y./Ulster County CC) to reach first following a strikeout to make it 1-0.
The two teams went scoreless in the second inning before St. Thomas Aquinas loaded the bases up in the top of the third with two outs. However, Snyder got Deven Del Priore to strikeout for the final out to keep Mercy ahead 1-0.
The Mavericks added on a run in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead as Hagan hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Torres who had singled to lead off the inning. The Spartans finally got on the board in the fourth as Michael Morgan drove home Patane to make it 2-1.
Mercy plated another run in the bottom of the fifth to put the Mavericks up 3-1 as Hagan tripled home sophomore Nick Daley (Glenwood Landing, N.Y./North Shore) who led off the inning with a single to left field. Snyder continued to dominate as he kept the Spartans off the board in the sixth and seventh innings despite his pitch count being well over 100 pitches.
St. Thomas Aquinas finally got to the Mavericks pitching after Snyder came out as they scored two runs in the eighth to tie the score up at 3-3 following three hits in the inning. Mercy answered by getting a runner to third in the bottom of the eighth, but a groundout ended the threat and kept the game tied at 3-3.
The Spartans would manufacture the go-ahead run in the ninth on a walk, a single, a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly to take their first lead of the day at 4-3, heading to the Mavericks final at-bat. After a leadoff groundout, Waters came through and smacked a triple to right center to put the tying run on third with just one out. However, a strikeout and groundout ended the game and gave St. Thomas Aquinas the opening game of the series.
Head Coach Jason Lamando and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow as they take on St. Thomas Aquinas at Mercy Field for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
