Southern Vermont College: Newbury Clips Baseball 11-9 to Finish NECC Regular Season

Recap, photo courtesy of Southern Vermont College

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular season baseball schedule concluded at the New England Baseball Complex Wednesday afternoon, Newbury College topping Southern Vermont College 11-9 in the league finale.

SVC led 4-2 before Newbury tacked up five runs in the top of the sixth to go ahead 8-4. The Mountaineers responded immediately with five of their own in the home half to regain the upper hand, but NC would cross the plate twice in the next frame and add an insurance tally in the eighth while preventing Southern Vermont from crossing the plate the rest of the way.

The Mountaineers drop to 18-18 heading into this weekend's league tournament, taking the No. 3 seed with a 10-8 record in Conference action. SVC will line up with No. 2 Elms College on Friday in the opening day of the double-elimination tournament, playing the Blazers at 3 p.m. at top-seeded Mitchell College.

Newbury finishes its 2016 season with a 5-13 mark in the NECC and a 15-21 overall record, finishing the year with a three-game winning streak.

Mountaineer senior RJ Pingitore (Perth, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 with a walk, three RBIs and a run scored

in the effort while freshman catcher Dan Mason (Bloomingdale, N.J.) was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two more batted in. Freshman catcher Zack Stacey (Saratoga, N.Y.) had a 1-for-3 showing at the dish with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI, and junior designated hitter Anthony Mercuri (Ridge, N.Y.) turned in a 2-for-5 performance from the box with a walk, two runs scored and another driven in.

SVC sophomore righty Jean-Carlos Berasgoico (New York City, N.Y.) suffered the loss (2-5) from the mound after freshman Ryan Richards (Beaumont, Calif.) went five innings with the start, giving up three earned runs and striking out five in the no-decision.

The Nighthawks racked up 18 hits in the victory with seven players recording multi-hit games. Senior third baseman Ryan Zahornasky (Shelton, Conn.) was 4-for-6 at the plate, scoring four times and batting in two others while freshman first baseman David Center (Medford, Mass.) and sophomore designated hitter Matthew Peluso (Woodbridge, Ontario) were both 3-for-4 with an RBI; Center added a pair of runs scored for NC.

Newbury sophomore right-hander Jacob Pringle (Acushnet, Mass.) picked up the win (4-4) from the rubber, tossing a scoreless 3.1 innings to finish off the game out of the bullpen. He struck out two SVC batters while giving up just three hits and a walk.

Southern Vermont took to the board in the bottom of the first for the early lead, going on top with a lone run on two hits. Stacey started the frame with a double down the line in right, and Pingitore knocked him in with an RBI single ripped inside the third base.

NC had an answer with one of its own in the following box to tie the game, Center starting the inning with a single out to center before he moved around to third on a double by Peluso. Center came home to score two batters later, tagging up and coming home to make it a 1-1 game.

The even score wouldn't last long as the Mountaineers put up another lone run in the bottom of the second to reclaim the lead. With two outs, freshman right fielder Cody Sullivan (Brunswick, N.Y.) doubled to the fence in right to get on base. He then came around to touch the dish as a throwing error by Newbury allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Once again, Newbury had a response as the Nighthawks got it back in the top of the third. With the bases loaded and only one out, a sharply-hit grounder down to third was snagged by sophomore Rob Spatafore (Mahopac, N.Y.) and returned home to cut down the lead runner. NC would get its run with two down, however, as Peluso took a pitch to the body during the next at bat for Zahornasky to trot in with the tying tally.

The Southern Vermont offense continued to produce in the bottom of the inning, tacking up a pair of runs to go ahead 4-2. Stacey walked to lead-off the inning, and he then came all the way around from first on an ensuing Mason triple tagged to dead-center. A Pingitore chopper down to first then made way for Mason to come in and put his team on top by two.

Both sides went down in order in the fourth before Newbury cut its deficit in half with a solo run in the fifth. Zahornasky sent a bouncing double over the fence in left and then moved up 90 feet with a ground out to short. Center registered a subsequent single down the line in left for the NC runner to come in and make it a one-run game.

The Nighthawks then took their first lead of the day with five runs in the sixth, all of their scoring coming with two down. A single through the left side off the bat of junior C.J. Ingraham (Georgetown, Mass.) loaded the pond with the pair of outs, and Zahornasky came to the plate to punch a come-backer just past the Mountaineer pitcher for two runs to score. Senior Craig Barnett (Melbourne, Australia) followed with a towering shot down the line in left, a blast that snuck just inside the foul pole to clear the bases and score three more.

The 8-4 NC advantage didn't last for long as SVC came right back with five of its own in the bottom of the frame, also doing so with two outs and just two hits during the inning. Pingitore took a pitch in his back to start the box, and he moved around to third with the help of his 56th career stolen base; that swipe tied him for the all-time SVC record on the base paths (Pat Warrington). Mercuri would score his senior teammate with a double to right, and three straight walks then pushed him in to make it an 8-6 ballgame.

A Newbury change on the hill didn't stop the scoring as Stacey took a hit by pitch for the bruising RBI. Mason then batted a dribbler just past the mound, legging out the single that brought home the tying run. Pingitore came back to the plate for the second time of the inning and worked another run-scoring walk before a called third strike got the Nighthawks off the field.

Newbury would take control at that point of the game, keeping the Mountaineers from any further scoring while getting the runs needed to take the marginal upper hand. NC chalked up one in the top of the seventh to tie the contest at 9-9, using a sacrifice bunt to help manufacture the score. A single to the hole at second put Nighthawks at the corners with one down, and a double steal would see Southern Vermont elect to get the out at second as NC junior Brian Rhone (North Haven, Conn.) came home on the throw to even it up.

Mercuri would send his second double of the afternoon down the line in left with one out in the home half of the inning, but he'd be stranded on the base paths as Pringle worked himself out of it to maintain the tie. Newbury then went on top, Zahornasky leading-off the eighth with a solo homer blasted to straight-away center. Center would work a one-out walk before getting moved around to third on a Peluso ground-rule double to right. The next NC batter drilled the ball down the line in left, forcing SVC freshman Danny Grammel (Leominster, Mass.) to make a diving play to save a run; still the lead Nighthawk was able to tag up and score from third, putting his team on top 11-9.

Mason got on base in the eighth with a high throwing miscue by Newbury, and the Mountaineers then attempted to score him on a Pingitore double cranked down the left field line. The NC defense executed the relay throw from the outfield, however, gunning down the runner at the plate. Neither side would score in the ninth, NC stranding a runner in the top before Pringle finished off his fourth win of the year with a 1-2-3 bottom.