Baseball runs win streak to nine with sweep of Saint Michael's

COLCHESTER, Vermont – The American International College baseball team swept a four-game Northeast-10 Conference series against Saint Michael's College on April 15-16, winning 16-5, 10-1, 10-7, and 15-10.

AIC improves to 15-16 overall and 6-6 in the NE10 Northwest Division.

The Yellow Jackets wasted no time in the series opener as Josh Frometa socked a two-run shot after Brendan Edvardsen singled to start the game. The Yellow Jackets then hung a five on the board in the second as Edvardsen drove in both Chad and Ryan Lavelle, and two batters later, Kiernan Caffrey went yard to extend the lead. AIC added runs in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth, including a solo shot by Jackson Haker in the sixth, as the team ran away with the win 16-5 win. Ultimately, Edvardsen and Caffrey had four hits each, while Josh Frometa led AIC with four RBI in the game. AIC totaled 15 hits and added 10 walks in the win.

Game two was likewise a walkover, thanks in part to some miscues by the host defense; the Yellow Jackets scored four unearned in the second with two errors as a key part of it, and Frometa hit a bases-loaded two-run single to cap the offensive output. The Purple Knights notched one in the home half but the Yellow Jackets countered in the third with a run, and then added two in the fourth with Frometa and Brandon Gaul driving runners in, as well as three in the sixth with Haker smacking a two-run double and scoring on a Chad Lavelle single for the 10-1 final.

The calendar flipped from Saturday to Sunday, and it seemed like the type of game did as well; the Purple Knights took their first lead by scoring in the first, although Ryan Lavelle tied things with an RBI groundout in the next half-inning. The home squad regained the lead in the fourth, but the real intrigue came in the sixth as AIC scored six times, beginning with an error and then a walk before Tyler Ziemak bopped a two-run single, and several batters later Frometa launched the biggest hit of all, a grand slam to put AIC ahead 7-2. However, the Purple Knights flipped the script on AIC with a five-run frame of their own, setting up a seventh-inning showdown. AIC did not blink, and Chad Lavelle's sacrifice fly put AIC back on top before Edvardsen and Frometa added insurance with a pair of bases-loaded walks. Saint Michael's put the tying run at the dish, but Hayden Mutz ended the game with a strikeout.

Eyeing a sweep, AIC came out swinging in the fourth game, and Chad Lavelle's hit plus an error pushed two across in the first; Connor Daly added an RBI groundout in the second, and Frometa and Chad Lavelle each made run-scoring outs in the third. Two home runs in the bottom of the third cut AIC's lead to 5-3,. But in the fourth Edvardsen launched a three-run shot as part of a six-run inning. Both teams added four runs across the next three frames, including a two-run double by Shea Cuccinotta, and though the Purple Knights added three in the ninth, they could not overcome the hole they were in as AIC polished off the series.

Frometa led AIC with a .538 average in the series, driving in a dozen and scoring nine on his seven hits. Kaden Peterson had the strongest pitching outing among the starters, a complete-game effort allowing one run on five with nine strikeouts across the seven frames of the second game.

AIC returns to action Wednesday, April 19 against Bentley University in a nonconference contest at Richard F. Bedard Field scheduled for 3:30 p.m.