Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University baseball team scored a divisional series victory over American International College thanks in part to the clutch bat of Lawrence Cicileo on Sunday afternoon, taking a 6-3 victory.
With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the sophomore's two-run double to right gave Adelphi (20-14-1, 10-8 NE10) a lead it would never relinquish, as the Brown and Gold took the rubber game of a three-game weekend series, and pulled back closer to .500 in Southwest Division play in the NE10 at 6-7.
Steven Withers went 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot for Adelphi in the game, scoring a run, while Lucas Terwilliger, Tyler Warshefskie and Brandon Morse combined to go 6-for-12 and scored one run apiece.
The Panthers got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead on the Yellow Jackets in the third inning. A base hit by Withers, followed by a wild pitch and a balk, allowed the second baseman to later cross home plate off an RBI groundout from Terwilliger.
American Int'l (15-22, 6-13 NE10) nonetheless responded immediately, and tied the game in the next inning thanks to an RBI single by Will Johnson, as Matt Krause's leadoff double against Michael Tarpey proved to be key.
To lead off the fourth inning, Cicileo slammed a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season and first since a three-homer game against Pace a week ago, giving Adelphi the 2-1 edge. The hosts did not score again until the sixth, when Brandon Morse laced a double down the left line to bring Warshefskie home and give the Panthers a two-run lead.
Battling back again, the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases in the seventh against the Adelphi bullpen, and Matt Costanza knocked in a pair after the wind took a double to the left field line. Smart defense by Adelphi kept the game tied at 3-3, as Withers hustled a throw home to keep the lead run from scoring, allowing the Panthers a crack at taking the lead in the bottom of the frame.
Adelphi put one more on the scoreboard in the eighth following an RBI single from Tyler Becker with three runners on base.
David Butler improved to 2-0 on the season in long relief for the hosts, as he stranded the bases loaded in the seventh and finished off the contest. Across 2.2 innings, the senior fanned two, and allowed just one hit.
The Brown and Gold hit the road for a non-conference contest against the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday, April 24. The first pitch 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.
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