Four Mavericks Record an RBI as Baseball Concludes Season at LIU Post
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Box Score 2 BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (May 8, 2016) – Despite an RBI from senior Justin Palladino (Yonkers, N.Y./Westchester CC), junior Kenny Costa (Byram, N.J./Sussex County CC), sophomore Bryan Torres (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows) and freshman Nicholas Chilson (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) in game two, the Mercy College baseball team dropped 2-0 and 10-4 decisions to ECC foe LIU Post in their season finale on Sunday afternoon.
The Mavericks (13-29, 6-18 ECC) drop all four matchups to the Pioneers (23-20, 13-11 ECC), who remain in the hunt for an ECC playoff spot.
Game 1: LIU Post 2, Mercy 0
A pitcher's duel broke out in the opener between Mavericks starter graduate student Matt Snyder (Albany, N.Y./University of Kentucky) and Pioneers starter Joey Arena. The two teams combined for just two runs and 12 hits.
Mercy threatened in the top of the third following back-to-back singles from freshman Joseph Sadallah (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and senior Giovanni Lasalandra (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley). Sadallah moved to third following a fly out but another fly out ended the threat and kept the game scoreless.
The Pioneers put runners on first and second in their half of the third, but Snyder induced a double play to end the inning. LIU Post finally broke the scoreless game in the sixth inning when they scored the lone two runs of the game to take a 2-0 lead. After two walks, a wild pitch, a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base, Kenny Daley singled home two runners to give the Pioneers the lead.
The Mavericks would only record one hit the rest of the game against Arena, who struck out nine, to pick up the victory.
Snyder allowed just two earned runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts to take the loss. Sophomore Nick Arcabascio (Brooklyn, N.Y./Quinnipiac University), senior Scott Hagan (Mamaroneck, N.Y./SUNY Binghamton), junior Randal Mendez (New York, N.Y./Coppin State University), Sadallah and Lasalandra recorded Mercy's five hits in game one.
Game 2: LIU Post 10, Mercy 4
After a low-scoring affair in the opener, the nightcap proved to be a slugfest as the two teams produced 26 hits and 14 runs.
The Pioneers got off to a hot start with five runs in the bottom of the first to take a 5-0 lead after one inning of play on five hits. David Groeneveld produced the biggest hit of the inning, a two-run single, which got the scoring started.
LIU Post increased their lead to 6-0 in the third inning following a James Cohan sacrifice fly that was aided by a Mercy error in the previous at bat. After the Mavericks went down in order in the fourth, the Pioneers tacked on three more runs to take a 9-0 lead after four innings of play.
The hosts made it 10-0 in the sixth inning on a Kyle Fagan RBI single up the middle. Mercy continued to fight and would plate three runs in the top of the eighth to make it 10-3. Three singles from Sadallah, Hagan and Torres loaded the bases before Palladino drove home Sadallah with a single to left field to score the first run.
Costa then came through with a single through the right side that brought Hagan to the plate for the second run of the inning. Chilson capped off the scoring in the inning with an RBI groundout to score Torres. Mercy threatened for more with runners on second and third with two outs, but a groundout to second ended the inning.
After a 1-2-3 inning tossed by Hagan, the Mavericks loaded the bases again in the ninth with one out. Torres brought in Sadallah, who singled earlier in the inning, with an RBI groundout to make it 10-4 with two outs. The rally would come to an end on a groundout to the first baseman, ending the game and completing the sweep for the Pioneers.
Hagan went 3-for-4 with a run scored in his final collegiate game, while Sadallah went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Senior Blake Coalla (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) made the start and went the first 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.
Mike Curti pitched the first two innings for the Pioneers to pick up the win. Daley led the Pioneers with four hits at the plate and Groeneveld and Joe Spitaleri both drove in a team-high two runs.
