Garden City, N.Y. - Through the scattered rain storms for the majority of the game, the Adelphi University baseball team and the Le Moyne Dolphins kicked off a weekend divisional series with the first of three on WIlliam J. Bonomo Memorial Field on Friday afternoon.
Thanks to a four-run eighth inning and an insurance run in the ninth after being stymied by Ed Baram for much of the game, the Dolphins turned around a 4-1 deficit to capture a 6-4 victory.
Baram started on the hill for the Panthers (8-9-1, 1-3-0 NE10), and threw seven innings of one-run ball before running into trouble in the eighth. Baram faced the first four batters of the inning and did not record an out, as Andrew Taft led off the inning with a double before a walk and a single to right field loaded the bases for the visitors.
With Ben Walsh at bat, the shortstop ripped a triple down the right field line to drive home three runners and tie the game, 4-4. Le Moyne (17-6, 3-0 NE10) took the lead one batter later, as junior catcher Camillo Spinoso stroked the go-ahead sacrifice fly to bring Walsh home from third.
Though he took the loss in the outing, Baram tied a career-high in strikeouts, as he fanned 10 Dolphins on the afternoon.
Le Moyne started off the game strong, going up 1-0 on the home team on a home run by Taft in the first inning. However, two innings later, the Panthers took the lead with a home run of their own off the bat of Thomas Colombo, as the junior went deep for a 2-1 lead.
The score remained for three and a half more innings, until a single by Brett Malm and a throwing error by the visitors allowed Steven Withers to advance from second to score Adelphi's third run. With Malm on second, Colombo laced a single to right field to tally another RBI and put the Panthers up 4-2 going into the eighth inning.
Colombo led Adelphi on offense with the second three-hit game of his career, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the cleanup spot. One spot ahead of him in the order, Malm also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Le Moyne and Adelphi will face off again on Saturday for a doubleheader on William J. Bonomo Field. The first pitch will be hurled at 12 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 26 regular season conference titles, 28 tournament championships, 37 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.
