Costa Drives in a Run as Baseball Plays at Queens
Box Score FLUSHING, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2016) – Despite an RBI from junior Kenny Costa (Byram, N.J./Sussex County CC) and seven strong innings pitched by junior Matt Nalbone (Islip, N.Y./Islip), the Mercy College baseball team dropped a 7-1 decision to Queens College in an ECC matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The Mavericks (11-25, 4-14 ECC) have now dropped three in a row, while the Knights (20-22, 9-13 ECC) have won four straight games.
Costa went 1-for-2 with an RBI, while senior Justin Palladino (Yonkers, N.Y./Westchester CC), junior Charles Fina (Kingston, N.Y./Ulster County CC) and freshman Joseph Sadallah (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) also recorded a hit. Nalbone tossed seven innings with one earned run allowed and four strikeouts.
Queens was led by James Donohue and Diego Gonzalez who both recorded two RBI. Joseph Broderick tossed a complete game with no earned runs allowed with nine strikeouts.
A pitcher's duel broke out early on as the game remained scoreless until the fifth inning. The Knights broke the scoreless tie in the fifth on two hits and a Mercy error to take a 1-0 lead. Kevin Kolesar drove in the run on a single to left center that scored Matt Dawkins who had reached on an error earlier in the inning.
Queens tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth following a sacrifice fly from Matthew Walsh to make it 2-0 after six innings. Palladino and Fina both recorded hits in the top of the seventh but were left stranded after a strikeout, keeping the score at 2-0.
The hosts broke open the game in the eighth inning when they scored five runs on four hits and an error to take a commanding 7-0 lead after eight innings. The Mavericks got on the board in the top of the ninth following a Costa RBI single to third base that scored junior Bryan Gutierrez (Bronx, N.Y./In-tech Academy) to make it 7-1 with two outs. A strikeout by the next batter would end the threat and the game, giving the Knights their second straight win over the Mavericks.
Head Coach Jason Lamando and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they host Queens for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
