NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team dropped a pair of home non-conference games to the Pilgrims of New England College Wednesday evening under the lights at Rochford Field.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE (G1): New England College 16 | Albertus Magnus 2
FINAL SCORE (G2): New England College 25 | Albertus Magnus 8
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (7-11) | New England College (7-11)
BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

KEY HIGHLIGHTS - Game 1

• NEC struck first in the top of the second, scoring two runs on two hits, including a lead-off home run from JD Normand, to take the early lead over the Falcons. 
• Following a 1-2-3 inning from Albertus, NEC returned to the plate and recorded another two-run, two-hit inning, doubling its lead to 4-0, heading into the bottom half of the third. 
• Albertus' next at-bat saw Bobby Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) record the Falcons' first hit of the game on a two-out double to center field, but a ground out to third by Ron Losacano (Old Lyme, Conn.) stranded Arent and sent the game to the top of the fourth. 
• NEC continued to swing the bat and found themselves ahead 16-0 after scoring 12 runs in the top of the fourth. 
• Albertus finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth as Alex Kozlowski (Shelton, Conn.) kicked off the inning with a walk before he crossed home on a Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.) home run to right field. After that, however, the Falcons went down 1-2-3 following three straight strikeouts. 
• Despite two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Arent and Losacano ignited the Falcons' bench with a walk and a single to left field, but the rally was short-lived following a fly out to right field. 
• Solid pitching from Colin Campbell (West Fulton, N.Y.) and defensive work from the Falcons silenced the Pilgrims in the top of the sixth with a groundout, a strikeout, and a pop-up to short.
• Albertus began its final at-bat with two quick outs, but a single from Shawn Smith (Shelton, Conn.) and a forced walk by Anthony Broadhurst (Stratford, Conn.) put runners on for King Rivera (Bridgeport, Conn.). However, a strikeout ended the inning, and the Falcons fell by a final score of 16-2. 

ON THE MOUND
WP: Alex Perez (W, 2-2) | 3.0 IP | 3 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 2 BB | 8 SO | 1 HR 
LP: Ryan Green (Torrington, Conn.) (L, 1-2) | 2.0 IP | 2 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 2 BB | 3 SO | 1 HR

AT THE PLATE

• Losacano, Jefferson, S. Smith, and Arent each registered a hit. 
• Jefferson recorded a team-best two RBI.
• Jefferson's home run is the ninth of his career and third in the last three games for the Falcons.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS - Game 2

• NEC opened game two with an early six-run lead over the Falcons as a single, a trio of doubles, and a home run gave the visitors the early advantage. 
• In the bottom half of the first, Albertus managed to cut the Pilgrims' lead in half, 6-3, behind a three-RBI home run from Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.).
• The inning started with a groundout to third from Losacano, followed by a walk by Kozlowski and a double to left field from Jefferson before Sullivan found his pitch that sent the ball over the right field fence.
• The Falcons continued to battle, despite earning their second out of the inning, as back-to-back walks from Broadhurst and John Riccio (Shelton, Conn.) put runners on for Rivera, but a flyout ended the inning.
• The Pilgrims continued to swing the bat and extended their lead to 11, 14-3, after scoring eight runs on four hits and a Falcon error in the top of the second.
• Albertus' next rally came at the bottom of the third as Sullivan led off the at-bat with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Broadhurst forced a walk as a single from Riccio drove in Sullivan and advanced Broathurst second.
• Rivera kept the rally alive by loading the bases with a single, but a double play from Arent sent the teams to their dugouts, with the Falcons trailing 14-4.
• After being silenced in the third, NEC scored additional 10 runs in the top of the fourth to take a commanding 24-4 lead.
• Albertus responded in the home half of the inning, scoring four runs on two hits, including a RBI double from Jefferson and a home run from S. Smith, to bring the score to 24-8.
• S. Smith's home run in the fourth inning was his fifth of the season.
• The Falcons kept NEC quiet until the top of the seventh when the visitors tallied an additional run in the top of the seventh, 25-8.
• Unfortunately, Albertus left a runner on base in the home half of the inning and could not establish a late rally, dropping the nightcap 25-8. 

ON THE MOUND
WP: Stephen Dunham (W, 1-0) - 5.0 IP | 7 H | 8 R | 7 ER | 9 BB | 4 SO | 2 HR
LP: Michael Pepe (Cheshire, Conn.) (L, 0-1) - 0.2 IP | 4 H | 5 R | 1 ER | 0 BB | 0 SO

AT THE PLATE

• Sullivan's home run in the bottom of the first was his first of the season and sixth of his career.
• Jefferson and Sullivan tallied a team-high two hits.
• Along with Sullivan, S. Smith collected a team-best three RBI.

UP NEXT
The baseball team hits the road for a Great Northeast Conference (GNAC) doubleheader against the Bulldogs of Dean College on Saturday, April 8th. Game times are set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.