HAMDEN, Conn. - Nathan Rivera (Windsor, Conn.) struck out 10 batters and Eddy Garabito (Norwalk, Conn.) drove in five runs, including a towering home run as the Albertus Magnus College baseball team won a 14-3 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game over New England College on Wednesday evening at Hamden High School.

Rivera pitched six innings and moved to 2-0 on the season after recording his career-high in strikeouts. Garabito went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three runs to go with his five RBI. King Rivera (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored three runs and drove in two. 

Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.) was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while Colin Telford (Branford, Conn.) was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Shawn Smith (Shelton, Conn.) was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 14 | New England College 3

RECORDS: Albertus (7-16 | 2-9 GNAC) | NEC (7-18 | 4-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• There was no shortage of offense for the Falcons, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning. The Falcons sent 11 batters to the plate in the first as Adriel Espada (Bridgeport, Conn.) singled to lead off the inning. After an error put runners on second and third, Garabito drove in a run with a single. Two batters later, Smith singled to score Garabito. Nick Ramos (Mineola, N.Y.) and Telford each had an RBI single later in the inning.
• Albertus scored one more in the second and then put up another big number with a four-run third inning to take a 10-1 lead. The inning started with back-to-back singles by Telford and Espada, followed by back-to-back doubles by Rivera and Garabito to make it a 9-1 game. Anthony Abate (Naugatuck, Conn.) then drove in his second run of the game with his second fielder's choice of the game for the nine-run lead for Albertus.
• Garabito all but put the game away in the bottom of the fourth with a towering three-run homer over the centerfield fence to make it a 13-1 game. 
• Rivera put on a clinic on the mound as the last eight batters he retired were all via strikeout. Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.) pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
• NEC's Jaken Pellerin homered in the top of the fifth and the Falcons added one more run in the bottom of the inning.

ON THE HILL

Albertus

Nathan Rivera (W, 2-0) 6.0 IP | 4 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 6 BB | 10 K

Tyler Baldwin 1.0 IP | 1 Hit | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

NEC

Liam Bruskewicz (L, 1-4) 3.0 IP | 12 Hits | 10 Runs | 9 ER | 1 BB | 2 K

Colby Rohr 1.0 IP | 3 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Paul Foster 1.0 IP | 0 Hits | 1 Run | 0 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Isaias Nuno 1.0 IP | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 2 BB | 2 K

AT THE PLATE

Albertus

Eddy Garabito 3-for-5 | 1 HR | 1 2B | 3 Runs | 5 RBI

King Rivera 1-for-4 | 1 2B | 3 Runs | 2 RBI

Colin Telford 3-for-4 | 2 Runs | 1 RBI

Shawn Smith 2-for-3 | 2 BB | 1 Run | 1 RBI

NEC

Jaken Pellerin 1-for-3 | 1 HR | 1 Run | 3 RBI

Bryce Worth 2-for-4 | 1 Run

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons have scored 37 runs over their last two games against NEC.
• Garabito has driven in at least one run in seven of his last eight games, driving in 14 runs during the stretch.
• The 10 strikeouts from Rivera were the most from an Albertus pitcher since Justin Marks had 10 against Rivier in 2023.

UP NEXT

Albertus takes on Anna Maria on Friday in a GNAC doubleheader beginning at noon. The games will be played at Worcester State University.