Palm Beach, Fla.- In the final contest of its annual trip south, the Adelphi University baseball team fell to Northeast-10 Conference foe Southern Connecticut State University, 10-8 on Friday afternoon.
Over the course of nine games in Florida, the Panthers posted a 4-5 overall record, including a 4-2 mark against regional opposition. Adelphi (6-6-1) trailed 7-0 after six innings vs. the Owls on Friday afternoon, and 10-4 headed to the bottom of the eighth, but brought the tying run to bat with two outs in their last at-bats in the Sunshine State only to fall short.
Despite the loss, Steven Withers and Tyler Becker combined to go 5-for-10 at the top of the lineup. Brett Malm contributed two hits on five at-bats, along with Michael Cattani and Tim O'Connor each going 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.
Lawrence Cicileo also drove in two for Adelphi off the bench with a double in the eighth and a sac fly in the ninth.
Both teams were silent in the first inning, but the Owls tacked on two runs in the top of the second after C. Redhan scored on a wild pitch uncorked by Adelphi starter Ed Baram, to give SCSU its first run and a runner on third. A single from Griffin Garabedian, allowed DeMartino to score and put the Owls up 2-0 going into the bottom of the inning.
The visitors went on to score one more in the third and added four in the sixth to go up 7-0 on the Panthers. With three pitching changes before the inning closed, SCSU began its run on a walk with the bases loaded, allowing Mike Giordano to tally one for the Owls. With three men on the bags once again, Tyler Criscuolo tripled to right center to claim three RBIs, and increase Southern's lead to seven.
Adelphi finally broke up the shutout in the seventh, scoring three of its eight runs of the contest. Michael Cattani, having previously hit a grand slam earlier this week at Lynn, stepped up to the plate once again with the bases loaded.
This time, though, the junior took the free base at first on a walk, tallying one RBI for the Panthers and the first run of the game. Following Cattani, Tim O'Connor slammed a double down the left field line, to bring Bardon Warick and Malm home to decrease the Owls' lead to 7-3.
In the eighth, both teams scored for the first time in the contest, as Southern Connecticut opened the top of the inning with three runs of their own thanks to a two-run triple to right center and a RBI single Connor Redahan, before Adelphi was able to tack on another run thanks to Cicileo's bat after Brandon Morse got on base from a fielding error.
With Michael Tarpey on the hill for the Brown and Gold, the senior held the Owls scoreless in the final inning, giving the Panthers a final chance at-bat. The home team battled back in the last half-inning and four runs to cut Southern's lead to two before the final out was called.
A throwing error by SCSU allowed Camden Orologio and Becker to put two more on the board for Adelphi, while the seventh and eighth runs were scored by Malm and Warick following Cicileo's sacrifice fly and Cattani's RBI single. However, Quantique White, Jr. entered for his second save of the season, as he induced a comebacker off the bat of O'Connor to end the game.
Baram was handed his first loss of the season, pitching a total of five innings and giving up three runs to the Blue and White. However, the junior starter struck out six batters and scattered four hits on 17 at-bats.
The Panthers will return to Garden City and back to the diamond Monday, against LIU Post in Brookville, N.Y. The first pitch will be hurled at 3:30 p.m.
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.
