DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 2, 2023) – Despite a home run from senior Janiel Ramirez (Windsor, Conn./The College of Saint Rose), the Mercy College baseball team dropped a 19-7 decision to ECC foe St. Thomas Aquinas College on Sunday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (5-21, 1-6 ECC) have dropped two games in a row, while the Spartans (11-13, 5-2 ECC) have won two games in a row.
Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a team-high three RBI and his first home run as a Maverick. Junior Jared Hernandez (Moca, P.R./Friends University) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and graduate student Steven Schoen (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Sacred Heart University) went 2-for-4 with a run. Freshman Zach Ashline (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central) went 1-for-3 and senior Nolan Giblin (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-Dewitt) and sophomores Jaden Caballero (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) and Joseph Gonzalez (Monroe, N.Y./Rockland CC) all went 1-for-5. Graduate student Kevin Seckler (Beacon, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) allowed five earned runs in four innings to take the loss.
St. Thomas Aquinas was led by Kyle Lagrutta who went 3-for-4 with a game-high seven RBI. Andrew Alameda allowed two runs in five innings to earn the win.
The Spartans took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a Lagrutta two-run home run. St. Thomas Aquinas added four runs in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead.
Lagrutta drove in two more runs in the fourth inning to give the Spartans an 8-0 lead. Mercy scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-2. Schoen was hit by a pitch and advanced to third following a Gonzalez double. Ramirez later drove in Schoen on a groundout and Gonzalez scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2.
The Spartans added a run in the fifth inning to take a 9-2 lead. St. Thomas Aquinas added three more runs in the sixth inning to build the lead to 12-2. Mercy scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 12-6. After freshman Kolongi Goins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./FDR) led off the inning with a hit by pitch, Ramirez homered to right field to make it 12-4. Ashline then tripled and scored on a wild pitch to make it 12-5. Hernandez singled home the final run of the inning to cut the Spartans lead to 12-6.
Lagrutta drove in three more runs in the seventh inning to give St. Thomas Aquinas a 15-6 lead. The Spartans added two more runs in the eighth to take a 17-6 lead. Mercy scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 17-7.
The Spartans scored two runs in the ninth inning to build a 19-7 lead. Mercy went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to give St. Thomas Aquinas the win.
Mercy had nine hits and five errors and St. Thomas Aquinas had 17 hits and one error.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they host St. Thomas Aquinas at 3:30 p.m.
