Baseball takes rainy finale from SCSU to close home slate

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - After dropping the first two games of a Northeast-10 Conference series with Southern Connecticut State University 8-1 and 15-2 on Saturday, April 27, the American International College baseball team bounced back for a 17-8 win on Sunday, April 28 to finish off the home portion of its schedule.

AIC is now 14-26 overall with an 8-16 NE10 record. 

One big frame doomed AIC in the opening game as the Owls hung six on the board in the fourth, and added two more in the fifth. AIC's lone run came in the fifth as Cole Patterson singled, Kiernan Caffrey doubled, and an infield single by Shea Cuccinotta brought Patterson home. The lopsided score belied the offensive output generally; AIC's nine hits were just one fewer than the 10 by the Owls.

In the second game, the Owls likewise used a few big frames to create a lopsided-looking score. They notched two in the first and four in the second before scoring five in the fourth to open an 11-0 lead. AIC scored two quick runs in the sixth with a Patterson leadoff single followed by a Ryan Lavelle RBI triple and a Connor Daly base hit, but that was it for the scoring for the Yellow Jackets, who conceded one more four-run frame before the game was over. Once again, the score differential far exceeded the hit differential; AIC conceded 18 hits but collected 14.

With a two-run first in the finale, the third game appeared destined to go the way of the first two. However, the Yellow Jackets were determined to not allow it to happen again. They broke the shutout in the second on a Patterson sacrifice fly, and then took the lead for the first time on the weekend with a three-run third. With two outs, Nick Serce singled, as did Chad Lavelle, and Tyler Ziemak was hit on the hands by a pitch. Serce scored on a wild pitch during Yeudy Ramirez's at-bat, and the other two came home when the shortstop smacked a single to left to put AIC ahead 4-2.

Ryan Lavelle led off AIC's next inning with a single and swiped second. Josh Frometa walked before the elder Lavelle was driven in by a Jackson Haker hit. Two batters later, the younger Lavelle got all of a hanging pitch and blasted his team-best sixth home run of the season just to the left of center field, a three-run shot that broke the game open. 

The Owls eked across a run in the fifth, but AIC continued to pound on the visiting pitching staff. Frometa, Haker, and Serce loaded the bases with two hits and a walk, and Chad Lavelle laced a ball into the right-field corner for a two-run double; Serce ultimately came in on a wild pitch. Ziemak walked and Ramirez hit a grounder that brought Lavelle in before Patterson whacked an RBI single to score the catcher for a five-run frame.

Southern Connecticut pieced together a five-run frame of its own, thanks in part to four walks and an error allowing three to come in unearned, alongside two hits, but AIC squashed any notion of a comeback in the bottom of the sixth. It was Serce doing the squashing in epic fashion; after Frometa and Haker singled, the power-hitting lefty smashed as no-doubt of a home run as Bedard Field had seen on the year, nearly clearing the trees between the fence and Roosevelt Avenue. Ryan Lavelle also added one more with an RBI single to knock in Ramirez, who had reached with a single and advanced on a Patterson walk.

From there, Hayden Mutz slammed the door, shutting out the Owls to finish off the game despite the worsening rain, and after eight frames the umpiring crew determined the conditions were too unsafe to continue, ending the contest with AIC comfortably ahead 17-8.

AIC has four games left to its schedule, beginning Tuesday, April 30 at Assumption University at 3:30 p.m.