Garden City, N.Y. - It was a wild finish in Game 1, but the Adelphi University baseball team secured a sweep of Pace University in the opening two-game set of a weekend NE10 series at William J. Bonomo Memorial Field Friday in Garden City.

Game 1: Adelphi 13, Pace 12
A couple of soft hits helped Pace get out to a comfortable 3-0 first-inning lead.

Meanwhile, the Adelphi offense couldn't seem to figure out Christian Aich, who was tagged for only one hit over the first three innings.

In the fourth, the bats came to play, especially Cooper Johnson's.

After an infield error kept the inning alive and eventually loaded the bases, Johnson poked a two-RBI single into shallow center to close the gap to 5-3.

Then, in the fifth, a fly ball to lead off the frame by Matt Alifano fell in for a double. The Panthers put runners on the corners with one out and Jack Ryan delivered an RBI double to left and Michael Draskin came through with a sacrifice fly to tie things up at 5-apiece.

In the sixth, Adelphi went ahead for the first time. On a 1-1 offering, Tyler Becker belted a solo homer to right and the hosts had the lead at 6-5.

A whopping 14 runs would come across over the game's final three innings.

Trailing 8-7 in the eighth, a pinch-hit single by Brandon Warick started a game-changing rally for the Panthers. Alifano followed with a single of his own to give the Brown and Gold a pair of one-out baserunners.

Tim Feliz was then hit with a pitch to load the bases, before Adelphi's No. 3 (Kyle Olson) and No. 4 hitters (Ryan) each singled to bring the tying and go-ahead runs across.

Draskin added the statement shot in the next at-bat. With a 1-0 count, he drilled a no-doubter to left for a grand slam that expanded the lead to 13-8.

Pace nearly managed to come all the way back in the ninth, but Steven Murphy locked down the save by inducing a bases-loaded pop-up from Dean DePreta to preserve the 13-12 win.

Game 2: Adelphi 7, Pace 2
In the nightcap, it was Adelphi that jumped out to the early lead. Olson and Alifano led off the game with back-to-back singles to set the table for Ryan, who smacked a three-run shot over the left-field fence.

Aside from a shaky third, Max Steele was in control for much of the contest. He ultimately pitched a complete game, allowing just two runs and two walks with five strikeouts in seven innings of work.

That third inning though gave way to a pair of Pace runs that put the Setters within striking distance at 5-2.

In the fourth, Draskin all but put the game away, when he got served a hanging breaking ball on a hitter's count and put it over the left-field wall for a two-run homer.

The Panthers wrap up the regular season Saturday (May 8), when they conclude their four-game weekend series against Pace at noon. The games will be preceded by a Senior Day ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 11:35 a.m. and will air on NE10NOW.tv.