DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 10, 2024) – Despite a home run and a team-high two RBI from sophomore Zach Ashline (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), the Mercy University baseball team dropped an 8-4 decision to Pace University on Sunday afternoon at Mercy Field.
The Mavericks (5-10) have dropped three games in a row and drop three out of four to the Setters (4-4).
Mercy was led by Ashline who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and his team-leading fifth home run of the season. Graduate student Brandon Nolasco (Chester, N.Y./Mount Saint Mary College) went 3-for-4 and freshman Kyle Engmann (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) went 1-for-3. Sophomore John Nisco (Tarrytown, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) went 1-for-4 and junior Alfred Hoti (New York, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) recorded an RBI. Graduate student Ryan Dieguez (Westbury, N.Y./Chaminade) allowed three runs in three innings to take the loss. Sophomore Diego Wirz (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief and senior Ryan Rozinski (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) tossed four scoreless innings of relief.
Pace was led by Cristian Rodriguez who went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Vincent Vartolone pitched two innings of relief to earn the win and Brian Espinal pitched three shutout innings to earn the save.
Mercy took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Ashline hit an inside-the-park home run to left center.
The Setters tied the game at 1-1 in the second inning on a Matthew Rinaldi RBI single. The Mavericks took the lead back in the bottom of the inning. Nisco singled and Nolasco doubled to put runners on second and third. Hoti then reached on an error by the third baseman, allowing Nisco to score to make it 2-1.
Pace retook the lead in the third inning when Rodriguez hit a two-run double, giving the Setters a 3-2 lead. The Setters exploded for five runs in the fourth inning to take an 8-2 lead.
The score remained 8-2 until the fifth inning when Mercy scored a run to make it 8-3. Sophomore Kolongi Goins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./FDR) reached on an error by the center fielder and advanced to third. Ashline then grounded out to second base, allowing Goins to score.
Mercy added another run in the sixth inning to make it 8-4. Nolasco and Engmann singled to start the rally. Engmann stole second and Nolasco scored following an error by the catcher to make it 8-4.
The Mavericks were unable to score in the seventh, eighth or ninth innings, giving Pace the 8-4 win.
Mercy had seven hits and one error and Pace had 11 hits and three errors.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, March 15th when they play at Bridgeport at 3 p.m.
