The Albertus Magnus baseball team fell to Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 4-0 on Tuesday night in the first round of the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament.
JWU took a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to two hits, a hit batter, and a walk. The inning was capped by a two-run triple to left center by Jack Hocking.
The Falcons' first hit of the contest came in the fourth with two outs when Anthony Pellegrino (Branford, Conn.) singled to left but was stranded on base as the Wildcats got out of the inning.
Mike Barillaro (Meriden, Conn.) started on the hill for the Falcons but was pulled from the game after giving up three runs on three hits in two innings of work.
In the bottom of the sixth inning Tom Elkow led off the frame with a single to left center before stealing second with two outs on the board. Alex Pezzuto doubled to right field to extend the Wildcats' lead to 4-0.
Jack Pritchard (Orange, Conn.) recorded a two-out double in the seventh but didn't score as the Falcons left another runner on base.
JWU recorded at least one hit in each of the first six innings before a 1-2-3 frame in the seventh for the Falcons.
Albertus headed into the top of the ninth down 4-0. JWU's Rob West, who earned the nod for the Wildcats, went the distance as he allowed just three hits in the complete-game shutout.
In the ninth inning, West forced back-to-back ground outs to lead off the inning before finishing the contest with his fifth strikeout of the game.
Barillaro falls to 3-3 on the year as the Falcons fall to 14-14 on the year. JWU improved to 28-12 overall, while West moved to 7-0 on the year. West struck out five and allowed no runs on three hits in nine innings.