PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team took a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) split on the road at Johnson & Wales University (RI) on Saturday, May 1. The Falcons dropped game one by a tight 3-2 final score before picking up a convincing 7-3 triumph in game two.
In the opener, senior Brandon Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) became the 19th player in Albertus history to tally 100-career hits.
THE BASICS - G1
FINAL: Johnson & Wales 3 | Albertus Magnus 2
MEETING: This is the 68th and 69th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Wildcats.
LOCATION: Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons took the first lead of the contest in the top of the second inning, going ahead 1-0 on the road. Albertus opened the frame with three straight singles to load the bases. Joseph Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.) brought in the first run of the game with a one-out sacrifice fly to deep right field that brought Vincent Gualtieri (Norwich, Conn.) home. Unfortunately for Albertus, a Clark fly out to center field ended the visitor's threat.
Shawn McFeggan (Anaheim, Calif.) was outstanding in his 2.0 innings pitched this afternoon, as the senior allowed zero hits and struck out four Wildcats.
JWU finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. Bryan Bessler got on first by an outfield error before Patrick Fleming drove him to third with a double to right field, the home team's first hit of the day. Following back-to-back strikeouts by the Falcons' Jay Palais (Farmington, Conn.), the Wildcats tied the score at 1-1 on a wild pitch that plated Bessler from third.
Albertus retaliated in the top of the fourth to retake the lead, 2-1, behind strong base running from Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.). After the rookie tallied an infield single, he stole second base and got to third and scored following an error by the opposing shortstop.
JWU got on the board again in the bottom half of the fourth to knot the score at 2-all. Armani Henderson started the scoring frame with a single and two stolen bases to get to third. Following two consecutive walks, Ike Flannery (Wethersfield, Conn.) faced the bases loaded with just one out. The sophomore righty worked out of the jam by allowing just one run on a sac fly before getting Fleming to ground out to end the frame.
The Wildcats took their first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the fifth, 3-2. JWU again loaded the bases, this time with a single and two hit-by-pitches. With no room on the bases and two outs, EJ Leone worked a walk to tally an RBI. However, the Falcons got out of the jam in the next at-bat when Dan DeBartolomeo (Fairfield, Conn.) struck out Kevin Duffy looking to end the inning.
With just one base runner and no runs scored in the sixth, the Falcons looked to the top of the seventh to even the contest. Albertus began the frame with a ground out and a single from Clark, the 100th hit of his illustrious career. After a fly out, Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.) singled through the left side to put runners on first and second for the visitors with two outs. However, Albertus could not even the game, as the Falcons ended the contest with a fly out to right field.
TOP PERFORMERS
• WP: Jake Hernandez (1-1) | LP: Dan DeBartolomeo (0-2)
• Despite taking the loss, Albertus owned an 11-3 lead in hits for the game.
• McFeggan allowed no hits and struck out four over his 2.0 innings on the mound.
• DeBartolomeo struck out three Wildcats, while Palais recorded two Ks.
• Sullivan and Baldwin were tied for the team lead with two hits each.
NOTEWORTHY
• Clark tallied his 100th-career hit with a single in the top of the seventh.
• He became the 19th Falcon to tally 100-plus hits.
THE BASICS - G2
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 7 | Johnson & Wales 3
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (4-13, 3-11 GNAC) | Johnson & Wales (9-13, 7-5 GNAC)
LOCATION: Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
With neither team getting much traction for the first two innings, the Falcons soared ahead of the Wildcats with four runs in the third. The first three runs came off the bat of Clark, who smashed a triple to right center with the bases loaded to plate Caden Cloutier (Wallingford, Conn.), Nhasean Murphy (Manchester, Conn.), and Matthews. Clark came home in the next at-bat following an error by the opposing second baseman.
The Falcons added three more runs to their advantage in the top of the fifth inning to go ahead 7-0. With Matthews and Clark on first and second following, a walk and single, Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) hit a double down the right-field line to plate his teammates. Warren was driven home from third two at-bats later on a sac fly from Ty Netto (Derby, Conn.).
Michael Pepe (Cheshire, Conn.) made his first career start in game two and cruised through the first 5.0 innings, not allowing a hit until the fifth. The junior struck out two batters through five.
JWU got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, capitalizing on its first hit of the day to score two runs. Following a walk, back-to-back singles brought the first run across. Joe Maracic cut the score to 7-2 when he broke for home from third on a successful Falcons' pickoff.
The Wildcats added one more run in the bottom of the seventh, but it proved not to be enough. Baldwin entered in relief and allowed just one run over 2.0 innings.
TOP PERFORMERS
• WP: Michael Pepe (1-0) | LP: Kevin Manning (0-1)
• Matthews finished game two 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored.
• Clark tallied three RBIs, two runs scored, and a triple.
• Murphy went 2-for-3 with a run.
NOTEWORTHY
• Pepe's win is the first of his career in his first career start.
