POMONA, N.Y. – Down to its last out in the opening contest of Thursday evening's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) doubleheader and trailing host Dominican College (N.Y.) by one, the Concordia College New York baseball team rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth to take the initial game 16-12 with the regionally-ranked Chargers needing late-game heroics of their own to take the second outing 5-4.
NOTES
• Concordia moves to 10-21, 5-11 in CACC play.
• Dominican, ranked eighth in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Regional Poll, moves to 16-13, 9-7 in league action.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS (GAME 1)
• Sophomore First baseman Hermes Abreu (Bayshore, N.Y.) set his career highs with four RBI and two doubles while matching his personal records behind a 4-4 outing in the batter's box and two runs scored.
• Senior shortstop Tyler Epple (Levittown, N.Y.) went a personal-best 4-5 with three runs scored and two doubles that both match his career highs and one RBI.
• Sophomore left fielder Jake Partridge (Bardonia, N.Y.) went 1-6 with a career-high three RBI and two runs scored.
• Junior second baseman Kendell Luquis (New Rochelle, N.Y.) went 1-3 with a career-high matching three runs scored.
• Freshman right fielder Matt Rinaldi (Eastchester, N.Y.) went 3-6 with three runs scored and three RBI.
• Freshman Logan Vallias (East Northport, N.Y.) tossed a team-best 4.2 innings with one run allowed off four hits.
• Junior RHP Connor Stapleton (Staten Island, N.Y.) earned the victory on the mound after holding Dominican scoreless over the final 1.2 innings.
• For Dominican, Elijah Tavarez went 3-6 with four RBI and one run scored while Justin Decker went 3-3 with three runs scored, one RBI and one walk. Nicholas Bolanos was tabbed with the loss, allowing five unearned runs in the final stanza.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)
• Leading off the bottom of the first with a single, Elijah Tavarez scored the opening run on a passed ball before back-to-back singles from Justin Decker and Billy Rotella plus a sacrifice fly from Brian Rotella platted Brian Sanders, Jordan Barnacet and Anthony Bartolome with a two-out single from Tavarez sending Decker and Rotella home to create an early 6-0 lead.
• Concordia took advantage of a Chargers' error in the top of the third to score Luquis and make it 6-1.
• Dominican got a pair of runners on base with one out in the bottom of the third via a Benjamin Meza double and walk for Joshua Colon, sending both home on a Tavarez double to extend the separation to 8-1.
• Concordia loaded the bases with two outs in the top of fourth, scoring Abreu, senior center fielder Andre Jackson (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Luquis off a triple from Partridge with Rinaldi sending the sophomore home on a single before scoring off an Epple double to make it 8-6.
• Reaching base on a fielder's choice in the top of the sixth, Partridge rounded the bases off a Rinadli single with an Impeduglia base hit scoring Rinaldi and Abreu sacrifice fly platting Epple to give Concordia a 9-8 advantage.
• Dominican evened the score at 9-all in the bottom of the sixth off a two-out single from Rotella that sent Decker home.
• Three-straight hits in the top of the eighth including a double from Impeduglia scored Epple and Impeduglia to give the Clippers an 11-9 lead.
• Back-to-back doubles from Rotella and Decker following a Bartolome single in the bottom of the eighth platted Bartolome and Decker, with a passed ball sending Rotella home to make it 12-11.
• With two outs in the top of the ninth and a runner on second, Rinaldi knotted the score off a single to send Luquis home before back-to-back two-RBI hits from Abreu and senior third baseman Andrew Medina (Brentwood, N.Y.) platted Rinaldi, Epple, Impeduglia and Abreu home to create a 16-12 advantage.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1)
• Concordia recorded 17 hits while the Chargers had 16.
• The Clippers left eight runners on base, Dominican stranded nine.
• Concordia committed one error, Dominican had seven.
• Concordia stole one base, Dominican stole three.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS (GAME 2)
• Luquis went 2-3.
• Jackson went 1-2 with two runs scored, one RBI and one walk.
• Senior Jack Wall (Levittown, N.Y.) got the start, allowing four runs with three earned off nine hits in 6.0 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.
• Stapleton received the loss after allowing the game-winning run to score.
• For Dominican, Colon went 1-1 with a run scored and two walks. John-Michael Broderick got the start, allowing six runs off eight hits in 3.0 innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)
• A Jackson double and Junior left fielder Nick Vlahakis (Oceanside, N.Y.) single back-to-back with two outs in the top of the second scored Impeduglia and Jackson to give Concordia a 2-0 lead.
• Leading off the bottom of the second with a double, Rotella scored off a two-out single from Colon to make it 2-1.
• Opening the bottom of the third with a single, Tavarez touched home plate off a Decker double with Bernacet platting Decker on a sacrifice fly to propel Dominican to a 3-2 advantage.
• Dominican capitalized on a Clippers' error that loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, sending Decker home on a walk for Write to take a 4-2 lead.
• Leading off the top of the sixth with a single, Partridge rounded the bases off an Epple grounder to make it 4-3.
• Reaching base with a leadoff walk, Jackson knotted the score in the top of the second on a passed ball.
• Following a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the seventh, Rotella ended the contest with a triple to score Bernacet.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2)
• Concordia recorded six hits, the Chargers tallied 10.
• The Clippers left four runners on base, Dominican stranded nine.
• Concordia committed two error, Dominican had one.
• Concordia stole one base, Dominican swiped four.
UP NEXT
The baseball team hosts Chestnut Hill College on Saturday, April 6 with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
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