PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (Apr. 25, 2023) – Powered by a combined seven RBI and two home runs from freshmen Zach Ashline (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central) and Sean McAdams (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), the Mercy College baseball team earned a 12-10 win over regionally-ranked Pace University on Tuesday afternoon at Finnerty Field.
The Mavericks (12-28) have won three of their last four games and defeat the Setters (24-14) for the first time this season.
McAdams went 3-for-5 with his second home run of the season and a game-high four RBI. Ashline went 4-for-5 with his first collegiate home run and three RBI and sophomore Jaden Caballero (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Graduate student Steven Schoen (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Sacred Heart University) went 2-for-4 and senior Ryan Gonzalez (Howell, N.J./Neumann University) went 2-for-6. Junior Gabe Sanders (Dunedin, Fla./Central Alabama CC) went 1-for-3 with an RBI and senior Janiel Ramirez (Windsor, Conn./The College of Saint Rose) went 1-for-1 with an RBI. Sophomore Frankie Asaro (East Williston, N.Y./Wheatley) went 1-for-4 with an RBI and sophomore Joseph Gonzalez (Monroe, N.Y./Rockland CC) went 1-for-2. Freshman Diego Wirz (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn his team-leading third win of the season. Sophomore Scott Scheppy (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh) recorded the final three outs in the ninth inning to earn his first save.
Pace was led by Mitchell McCabe who went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Tyler Rodriguez allowed two runs in three innings to take the loss.
Mercy took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Caballero singled to lead off the inning and scored on a two-run home run by McAdams to left field.
Pace made it 2-1 in the third inning when McCabe led off the inning with a home run.
The score stayed 2-1 until the fifth inning when Mercy scored six runs to take an 8-1 lead. Schoen and Ryan Gonzalez singled and Ashline reached on an error to load the bases. Sanders then singled to left field, scoring Schoen to make it 3-1. Junior Jared Hernandez (Moca, P.R./Friends University) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Ashline, making it 4-1. Asaro then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Gonzalez to give Mercy a 5-1 lead. Caballero then singled home Sanders to make it 6-1 and McAdams drove in the final two runs of the inning on a single to left field to give Mercy an 8-1 lead.
Mercy added three runs in the eighth inning to take an 11-1 lead. McAdams and Schoen walked to lead off the inning and Ashline then hit a three-run home run to left center, giving Mercy an 11-1 lead.
The Mavericks added a run in the ninth inning to make it 12-1. Joseph Gonzalez singled to lead off the inning and scored on a Ramirez RBI single. The Setters would score nine runs in the bottom of the ninth on nine hits and a Mercy error to make it 12-10, but Scheppy induced a fly out with the tying run at the plate to end the game, giving the Mavericks a 12-10 win.
Mercy had 17 hits and one error and Pace had 15 hits and five errors.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, April 28th when they play at Shippensburg at 3 p.m.
