Garden City, N.Y. - On Saturday, the Adelphi University baseball team bounced back from a disheartening 11-6 loss in the opener to take the second game of the doubleheader, 5-2, against Pace University in non-conference action at William J. Bonomo Memorial Field in Garden City.

Game 1: Adelphi 6, Pace 11
Adelphi victimized itself early in the opener, as a pair of two-out errors in the first inning ultimately resulted in three runs for Pace and staked the Setters to a quick 3-0 lead.

The Panthers got one back in the second and threatened with the bases loaded and none out, but that was the only run Adelphi pushed across in that frame.

The hosts set the table again in the third, loading the bases with none out. Brandon Warick was hit with a pitch with two outs to close the gap to 3-2.

Another two-out error cost Adelphi again in the fourth and Pace capitalized with an RBI single off the bat of Dane DePreta, making it a 4-2 game.

The Panthers fell victim to their own mistakes in Game 1. Cooper Johnson was doubled off second on a Matt Alifano lineout to right in the fourth. In all, Adelphi left 13 men on base through nine innings.

Josh Rovner settled down after some first-inning struggles. He retired nine of the final 11 to face him and struck out a pair, while allowing no earned runs.

Game 2: Adelphi 5, Pace 2
Nicolas Luc was masterful on the hill in the nightcap. He became the first pitcher since All-American Ed Baram in 2019 to strike out nine or more batters in a single game. Luc's nine punchouts tied his career-high from his Apr. 6, 2019 start at Saint Anselm.

"He was just fantastic. I think he was 92 to 95 (mph) the whole day and throwing it by hitters," Head Coach Dom Scala said of his starter. "He's a strong kid."

Luc faced the minimum over the first three innings. He ran into some trouble in the fourth and surrendered a run, but worked his way out of a second-and-third two-out jam by getting a groundout from Robert Chesney.

His batterymate Jack Ryan helped his pitcher out with the bat. After a first-inning RBI groundout by Kyle Olson that opened the scoring, Ryan homered to left in the second to double Adelphi's lead and added an RBI double in the fourth to tack on a key insurance run, which expanded the hosts' lead to 3-1.

Michael Storms came on in the seventh to shut the door. Despite walking the first batter he faced, in place of Matt Alifano, he struck out pinch-hitter Kasey Sullivan and induced a game-ending groundout from DePreta to preserve the 5-2 victory.

Storms' save was the first of his collegiate career, while Luc picked up his fifth career victory in the decision.

Alifano and Ryan both went 2-for-3 in the second game. Alifano also drove an RBI and scored two runs. Ryan plated a pair of runs and scored once.

Scala and the Panthers are right back at it tomorrow (Mar. 14), when they travel to Dobbs Ferry for an 11 a.m. matinee at non-conference opponent Mercy College.