HAMDEN, Conn. - Shawn Smith (Shelton, Conn.) reached base six times and the Albertus Magnus College baseball team rallied from a four run deficit to Mount Saint Mary's College (N.Y.), 14-11 in a non-conference game at Rochford Field.

Smith finished the game going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs while drawing two walks. Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.) went 2-for-6 with two RBI and two runs. Troy Piascik (East Haven, Conn.) went 2-for-6 including a home run, with four RBI and two runs and Joseph Cortes (Bridgeport, Conn.) homered for the Falcons as they won their second straight game.

Albertus used two six-run innings - in the first and fifth innings - to help lead it to victory.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 14 | Mount Saint Mary's College 11

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (5-14) | Mount Saint Mary's College (5-17)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first inning as the first three batters reached base without a hit before a two-run single from Tyler Van De Bogart gave the Knights the early lead. The Knights loaded the bases once again, but three straight flyouts got starting pitcher Toby Mariineau (Manchester, Conn.) out of the jam as the bases were left loaded.
• Adriel Espada (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Bobby Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) led off the home half of the first inning with back-to-back singles and were driven in on a deep two-run double from Spataj tied the game at 2-2. After a walk to Smith, Piascik doubled to right, scoring two runs and putting Albertus up, 4-2. Jason Sullivan followed with an RBI single to put the Falcons up three. Albertus would bat around and loaded the bases before Espada was hit by a pitch to plate one more run.
• The Knights scored a run in the top of the second inning and had a runner on third with two outs. Van De Bogart then ripped a ground ball to second base and Arent sprawled out to make a diving stop and got the runner out at first, saving a run and preserving a 6-3 lead at the time.
• The Falcons left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, and the Knights took advantage in the top of the third, scoring seven runs including two-run singles from Chris Calvario and Aidan Marshall. Van De Bogart added an RBI double.
• Albertus slugged its way back in front in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Espada and Arent drew  back-to-back walks and a pitching change by the Knights, Spataj greeted John Morehead with an RBI double to make it a 10-7 game. Smith followed with a two-run single to cut the deficit to one. With Smith at first, Piascik launched a two-run shot over the left field fence for his first home run of his career, and giving Albertus the 11-10 lead. Two batters later, Cortes hit a towering shot to left for his first home run of the season, giving Albertus the two-run lead.
• Jack Angelo (East Haven, Conn.) and Eric Galarza (Bridgeport, Conn.) combined to pitch the final 6.1 innings out of the bullpen to slow down the Knights' bats. Angelo allowed just one unearned run in 2.2 innings and Galarza shut the door over the final 3.2 innings, allowing just one base runner and striking out two.
• Albertus added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, including an RBI  fielder's choice from Vance Ward (Norwalk, Conn.).

ON THE MOUND

Albertus

• Toby Marineau 2.2 IP | 8 Runs | 7 ER | 5 Hits | 3 BB | 0 K
• Zack Fenn (Oakville, Conn.) 0.0 IP | 2 Runs | 1 ER | 4 Hits | 0 BB | 0 K
• Jack Angelo (W, 1-1) 2.2 IP | 1 Run | 0 ER | 2 Hits | 1 BB | 0 K
• Eric Galarza (Save, 1) 3.2 IP | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 1 Hit | 0 BB | 2 K

Mount Saint Mary's

• Nick Torres 0.2 IP | 6 Runs | 6 ER | 5 Hits | 1 BB | 1 K
• Christopher Snyder 3.1 IP | 2 Runs | 2 ER | 2 Hits | 4 BB | 5 K
• John MOrehead (L, 1-2) 0.1 IP | 4 Runs | 4 ER | 4 Hits | 0 BB | 1 K
• Peter Pappalardo 2.1 IP | 2 Runs | 2 ER | 3 Hits | 1 BB | 2 K
• Colin Bull 1.1 IP | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 0 Hits | 1 BB | 0 K

AT THE PLATE

Albertus

• Shawn Smith 4-for-4 | 2 2B | 2 Runs | 2 RBI | 2 BB
• Elijah Spataj 2-for-6 | 2 2B | 2 RBI | 2 Runs
• Troy Piascik 2-for-6 | 1 HR | 4 RBI | 2 Runs 
• Joseph Cortes 1-for-5 | 1 HR | 1 RBI | 2 Runs

Mount Saint Mary's

• Chris Calvario 2-for-5 | 2 Runs | 2 RBI
• Tyler Van De Bogart 2-for-5 | 1 2B | 2 RBI | 1 Run
• Aidan Marshall 2-for-4 | 3 RBI | 1 Run

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons have scored 37 runs combined over its last two games.
• Smith has 12 hits over his last four games including back-to-back four-hit performances.
• Piascik is 6-for-13 over his last two games with five runs, a homer and five RBI.
• Angelo earned his first career win while Galarza earned his first career save.
• Albertus improved its record to 8-12 against Mount Saint Mary's all-time.

UP NEXT

• The Falcons head back to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play as they travel to Saint Joseph's College (Me.) on Saturday, April 13 beginning at noon.