Garden City, N.Y. - Junior
Eric Hassell drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Adelphi University baseball team upended Southern Connecticut State 6-4 early today during a non-conference contest at William J. Bonomo Field.
Tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Hassell drove a double to left field to plate
Ray Triano with the go-ahead run for the Brown and Gold (5-3). Triano was on to pinch run after
Zack Levinson singled two batters earlier.
Michael Cattani delivered the insurance run with a RBI single after Hassell.
Levinson led the Panthers with three hits on the afternoon in addition to scoring a run.
Kory Cassara notched two RBI while
Brandon Morse and
Michael Stack tallied two hits a piece.
Matthew O'Connor earned the victory with a 1.1 innings in relief before
Michael Tarpey pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to earn the save.
Tyler Criscuolo paced the Owls (3-2) with two hits and run as five others each picked up a hit. Jake Lieberman scored two runs with a hit and walk at the plate.
Southern Connecticut claimed the first advantage of the afternoon by scoring three runs throughout the third and fourth innings. The lone run of the third inning was scored by Liberman on a misplay in the infield during a bunt. However,
John Thompson was able to limit the damage with two strikeouts and fly out to end the frame. In the fourth, the Owls tacked on two more runs with Lieberman swinging for a RBI triple before sacrifice bunt from Ethan Joyce scored Lieberman.
The Panthers managed to break through in the sixth, scoring four runs and taking a 4-3 lead. With the bases loaded, Stack scored on a fielder's choice followed by
Robert Vani making it a 3-2 game by advancing on a steal of second from
Brett Malm. Malm and Levinson both scored later on to give Adelphi a 4-3 lead after a two RBI single from Cassara.
The Owls quickly responded in the seventh, tying the game at 4-4 on a RBI single from Mike DeMarti. However, three hits in the bottom of the eighth inning propeled the Brown and Gold to the 6-4 victory.
Looking ahead, the Panthers begin an eight-game trip to Florida this Friday in Miami with a 1:00 pm first pitch against Wilmington. The game is set to played at St.Thomas - Miami.
Notes:- Today marked the first of five games the Panthers and Owls will play this year, with the final three being counted as Northeast-10 Conference contests.
- Adelphi is scheduled to play eight games in nine days during the upcoming Florida trip, facing Southern Connecticut on the last day of Saturday, March 19 at Lynn University.
About Adelphi University Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 16 regular season conference titles, 21 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.
For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
