AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The William Paterson baseball team (10-5) scored a pair of victories March 18 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, defeating St. Scholastica (5-6), 7-6, and Springfield (3-9), 22-20.
GAME ONE
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior second baseman Colin Lombardo (Edison, N.J./Edison) started the game with a walk, moved to third on a failed pickoff, and scored via a Jake Lutz (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) single to center. Senior designated hitter Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) later plated Lutz with a fielder's choice, handing WP a 2-0 edge.
- Back-to-back doubles scored one CSS run during the home half of the first.
- The Pioneers made it a 3-1 game in the second when junior left fielder Elliott Hayward (Marlton, N.J./Old Bridge) homered to left center.
- WP added three more in the fifth. Senior catcher Steve Yelin (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) led off with a base hit up the middle and graduate student Carson Weis (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley Regional) singled to left before a flyout advanced both runners. Senior right fielder Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J./Bergen Catholic) plated two runs with a base hit to through the right side, and singles from Hayward and senior third baseman Chris Liriano (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) made it a 6-1 game.
- Five straight hits created three St. Scholastica runs during the home half of the fifth.
- Weis singled in Yelin, who had doubled to right, for a 7-4 edge in the sixth.
- The Saints scored single runs during the sixth and ninth frames with sacrifice flies.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Yelin was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, and Hayward finished 3-for-5 and tallied a double and home run.
- Junior Ian Metzger (Verona, N.J./Verona) tossed 7.0 innings and allowed five runs on 14 hits and a walk, striking out five (4-1).
- Carter spun the final 2.0 innings for his third save of the year, surrendering one unearned run and two hits while posting one punchout.
GAME TWO
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pride hung 11 runs on the scoreboard during their first at-bat thanks to eight walks, three wild pitches, one passed ball, two singles and a grand slam.
- WP scratched out three runs during the home half of the first with Lombardo and Lutz walks, a Yelin two-run double, a Weis flyout and a wild pitch.
- Springfield added four more runs in the second, staking itself to a 15-3 lead, then used four walks for a single score in the third.
- Yelin singled, sophomore Chris Alberti (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) walked and classmate Brett Coyle (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) had a hit to load the bases for sophomore catcher Jake Fallers (Wilmington, Del./Archmere Academy), who cleared the bases with a double down the left-field line, making it a 16-6 contest after three frames.
- A triple, base hit, walk and single pushed across two more Pride runs during the top half of the fourth inning.
- Junior third baseman David Backo (Wallington, N.J./Wallington) opened the bottom of the fourth with a single, Lutz doubled and Yelin walked, leading to a Liriano run-scoring base on balls.
- Springfield extended its lead to 20-7 with a two-run fifth.
- William Paterson made it a one-run game with a 12-run fifth frame, highlighted by Yelin's three-run triple and three-run double.
- Backo singled in freshman second baseman Tom Radigan (Verona, N.J./Verona), knotting the score at 20-20 after seven.
- Lutz reached first base on an error to start the eighth, got to third after a failed pickoff and scored the go-ahead run when Yelin lifted a sacrifice fly to center field. Three batters later, Coyle doubled in Alberti for a 22-20 edge.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Yelin went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, nine RBI and three runs scored.
- Fallers drove in four runs, and Backo, Liriano, Coyle and Radigan each had two hits.
- Senior Jordan Manne (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) gave up three runs (two earned) and three walks in 0.2 inning as the starter. Freshman Pat Pantoliano (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) surrendered two hits, six runs and four walks, while junior Tyler Searles (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) allowed five runs, four hits and a walk in 0.2 inning of action.
- Senior Justin Grippo (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) tossed 1.2 innings and gave up two hits and two runs, walking five and striking out one. Graduate student Jason Rivera (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) was charged with five hits, four runs, two walks and three strikeouts during his 1.2 innings.
- Freshman Nick Durso (Morris Plains, N.J./Parsippany Hills) dealt 1.1 shutout innings of two-hit ball, walking three and striking out one.
- Freshman Neel Telidevara (Dayton, N.J./South Brunswick) earned the win (1-0), going 2.0 innings without allowing a hit or run with a pair of bases on balls. Junior Darmany Rivas (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) struck out the side in the top of the ninth for his first save of the season.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson will finish play at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Saturday, March 19, with a game against Benedictine at 9:45 a.m.
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