Garden City, N.Y. - After a late rally by the Le Moyne Dolphins sank them in game one on Friday, the Adelphi University baseball team was swept at the hands of the nation's 22nd-ranked team on Saturday afternoon to continue Northeast-10 Conference play, 11-6 and 7-2.
Despite the pair of setbacks, junior Thomas Colombo remained hot at the plate with a 3-for-5 effort in game one, including a home run, and a 3-for-3 day with a run scored and a walk in game two. Over the three games, Colombo hit .750 on a 9-for-12 effort, with four RBIs and four runs scored. The Lindenhurst, N.Y. native extended his hitting streak to six games overall.
Game 1: LEM 11, AU 6
The Dolphins edged out the Panthers in game one, scoring in all but two innings, to finish with a five-run victory. Senior Michael Tarpey started on the mound and gave up four runs over two innings to take the defeat, but Le Moyne put up at least one run against five Panther arms in the game.
With the score tied at one going into the second, Le Moyne jumped out on the Panthers, to tack on three more runs to the scoreboard. A fielding error by the Tyler Becker with the bases loaded allowed Brian O'Mara to push the visitor lead, 2-1. One batter later, the Dolphins tacked on two more runs of a single up the middle by Nick Place.
The Panthers never tied the game again from that point, but twice cut the deficit to two runs or fewer in the ensuing innings. Kevin Krippel slammed a double to center field to lead off the second, and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Lucas Terwilliger to make the score 4-2, and leading off in the bottom of the third, Colombo hit his second home run of the series with a solo shot to right field.
One inning later, however, the three-run lead was restored as a triple by Camillo Spinoso and a fielding error put the Dolphins back in the lead, 6-3. The visiting team later tacked on a run in the top of the fifth on another RBI single by Place to push the lead to a game-high four at that point.
The Panthers cut the lead once again as pinch-hitter Kory Cassara slammed a double to left center in the bottom of the fifth to tally two RBIs and make it a 7-5 game, but Adelphi got no closer from there. The Brown and Gold stranded nine on the bases over the course of the game, including four from the sixth inning on.
With the game in the balance and Le Moyne leading 9-5, the Panthers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but managed to scratch out just one run on an RBI groundout by Jonathan Iadaevia.
Game 2: LEM 7, AU 2
The visitors jumped out on Adelphi in game two, gaining 4-0 lead after three innings at the expense of Michael Demarest. However, Jack Ryan answered for the Panthers in the fourth, and slammed a two-run single to right field after two singles and a walk loaded the bases, cutting the home team's deficit to two.
The score remained for three more innings, until Timothy Corapi ripped a double down the left field line to add two big insurance runs for the Dolphins to put them ahead, 6-2. Le Moyne was able to add one more in the ninth off an RBI single, eventually concluding the contest with the five-run win in the back end of the doubleheader.
Adelphi's best chance to tie the game came in the bottom of the fifth, as Steven Withers doubled to lead off and Colombo put him at third with a one-out single, but no runner was able to cross the plate as Ryan Murphy induced a popup and a strikeout to keep the lead in tact.
The Brown and Gold will return to the diamond for a road contest against Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday afternoon. The single game is scheduled for 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 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.
