Garden City, N.Y. - Even with two comebacks, the Adelphi University baseball team was unable to take a game off Franklin Pierce University in NE10 crossover competition Monday at William J. Bonomo Memorial Field in Garden City.

A doubleheader that was initially scheduled to be played Sunday, the Ravens (9-8, 3-1 NE10) swept the Panthers (8-10, 1-4 NE10), winning by the final scores of 7-3 and 10-6.

Both contests affected each team's conference record, in what was the first regular-season head-to-head meeting between Adelphi and Franklin Pierce since February 2020.

Game 1: Adelphi 3, Franklin Pierce 7 - F/12
A game that took twelve innings to decide, the Ravens tagged freshman reliever Dawson Montesa -- usually a starter within Adelphi's rotation -- for four runs in the top of the 12th.

Montesa, who hadn't seen work in ten days, first put up three scoreless innings in relief of Coleton Reitan, in a 3-3 game. It didn't come without its struggles though.

In the 10th inning, the Ravens loaded the bases with one out, before Montesa put up back-to-back strikeouts against the heart of the Franklin Pierce order.

An inning earlier, Montesa served up a two-out double with a runner on first. As Franklin Pierce's Elias Meredith -- in a pinch-running spot -- was given the green light to round third, Jack Wishner fired a perfect relay throw to Bryan McCleary that nailed the go-ahead run at home.

Senior pitcher Carlos Acosta was sharp to start out, facing one over the minimum through five with five strikeouts. And while Acosta was grooving, Alex Rende's two-out RBI single in the fifth broke the scoreless tie.

The Ravens ended the shutout bid in the sixth, after Eli Battipaglia took Acosta deep to left for a two-run homer that put the visitors ahead, 2-1.

A team that has shown fight all season, Joe Pellegrino singled in a run in the fifth that got the 'Cats within a run at 3-2, but the Brown and Gold failed to score another run that inning with the bases loaded and none out.

Adelphi left the stations full again in the eighth, although a passed ball allowed pinch-runner James Eden to come across as the tying run.

Stephen Bangs worked an impressive 4.2 scoreless in relief for Franklin Pierce, letting up two walks and striking out two to get the win in the decision.

Game 2: Adelphi 6, Franklin Pierce 10
A comeback was somehow in the cards yet again for the Panthers.

Despite falling into a quick 5-1 hole, Pellegrino drove a pitch to the opposite field in the third for his team-leading fourth roundtripper of 2024 -- a three-run homer that tied the game at 5-apiece.

In fact, Pellegrino went deep twice for what was his second two-homer game in his last three outings, and the fourth two-homer game (first at home) of his collegiate career.

Unfortunately, the pitching was unable to keep the Ravens at bay.

Senior pitcher Steven Proko took the ball for the 'Cats and lasted only two batters into the second, after hitting back-to-back Ravens to start the frame. Jacob Dannenberg followed in relief, and walked four, plunked a batter, and surrendered three runs in 2.2 innings of work. Gavin Graff entered for the last 3.1 and let up a pair of runs.

Head Coach Bill Ianniciello and his Adelphi squad will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. on Wednesday (Mar. 27) for a 3 p.m. non-conference tilt at Jefferson University.