Miami Gardens, Fla. - Taking a break from NCAA competition, the Adelphi University baseball team battled one of the best teams in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Monday afternoon to kick off their second week in the Sunshine State, but fell to the Bobcats of Saint Thomas University (Miami), 5-3.
The Panthers (5-3-1) jumped out on the Bobcats (22-3), the ninth-ranked program in the nation in the NAIA, in the first inning after Thomas Colombo continued Adelphi's streak of home runs with a dinger over the right field fence, just one game after the Panthers went deep three times in a victory over American Int'l.
The junior first baseman was credited with two RBIs, driving home Tyler Becker from first base for his fifth and sixth RBIs this season on first home run of 2018.
However, the hosts answered immediately, scoring one run in the first, second, third and fifth innings, to take the lead 4-2 going into the sixth against Michael Demarest, was making his second start of the season.
The Brown and Gold managed to get one more run on the board in the sixth after Colombo reached second base to lead off on an error and advanced to third on a wild pitch, allowing Michael Cattani's single up the middle to bring him home in the next at-bat.
With only one run separating the two teams, Saint Thomas increased its lead once again on a homer by Sergio Lopez in the bottom of the eighth, setting up the margin that decided the game. The home team finished with 11 hits and a team batting average of .366, as Lopez drove in the game-tying and insurance runs in the game.
Colombo also scored two runs for Adelphi in the loss, as Becker and Cattani also went 1-for-3 at-bat to account for the Panthers' three hits. Demarest pitched five innings for Adelphi, scattering nine hits across the board and five strikeouts, but took the loss. David Butler and Nick Palmerini combined to throw 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Adelphi will continue its southern escapade tomorrow afternoon against local foe, Molloy College. The game will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the campus of Barry University.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six 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.
