LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Iona College baseball program dropped a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games to Siena on Saturday afternoon. The Siena pitching limited the Gaels to eight hits over 16 innings.
GAME ONE: Siena 4, Iona 1
Iona scored in the top of the first inning with freshman
Jake Field crossing the plate on a Siena fielding error, but that'd be all the offense the Maroon & Gold would muster. Siena scored two runs in the bottom of the first on Nico Ramos and Devan Kruzinski singles. The Saints wouldn't look back.
Tommy Miller pitched a complete game against the Maroon & Gold, allowing just three hits and three walks. He struck out seven Gaels and threw 125 pitches. Iona starter
Stephen Hansen pitched the first seven innings and scattered around 10 hits and one walk. He allowed four earned runs and struck out six. Siena scored two additional runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with
Brian Kelly batting a double and then scoring on an Iona fielding error on a ball batted by Nico Ramos.
Freshman
Paul Sullivan pitched the bottom of the eighth inning and struck out the side on 12 pitches.
Senior
Joe DeMaio had two hits and senior
Fran Kinsey mustered one. Kinsey, sophomore
Sam Punzi and Field earned the free passes.
The bottom of the Saints order went 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts. In contrast, Siena's top three in the order went 7-for-12 with four runs scored.
GAME TWO: Siena 3, Iona 2
Again the Gaels took a lead in the top of the first inning, and again it was short lived. Senior
Niko Switalla hit a double to left center, scoring DeMaio who had been moved up to the leadoff spot. Siena tied the game in the bottom of the first with Ramos hitting a single to centerfield, scoring Zach Durfee.
The Saints took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ryan McGee hit a single through the left side and advanced to third on a throwing error. Meanwhile, Kruzinski scored on the play. For the third time, the Maroon & Gold scored but were unable to follow it up with a shutdown inning. In the top of the sixth, Field hit into a fielder's choice and Switalla was able to scamper home to tie the game. Come the bottom half of the inning, McGee hit the go-ahead single and give Siena the decisive 3-2 edge.
Junior
Chris Dodrill started the game for the Gaels and went the first 4.2 innings surrendering two earned runs on seven hits and three walks. Rookie
Hunter Sibley took over in the fifth and was handed the loss, allowing the game-winning run on one hit but three wild pitches.
Brendan White got the win for Siena, nearly going the distance allowing five hits, two walks and striking out six. Dylan D'Anna came on to get the final out and earn the save.
The Gaels left eight runners on base, including two in the top of the seventh inning. Kinsey was hit by a pitch and Switalla was walked on four pitches before D'Anna entered to retire Punzi.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona's MAAC record falls to 5-9. The Gaels are 2-2 on single-game MAAC days entering tomorrow's contest.
- Over the last three games, the Maroon & Gold are batting .161 (16-87).
- Punzi has reached base in 21 straight games.
- DeMaio is batting .367 (7-for-15) during his current four game hitting streak. He has raised his season batting average to team-best .301. He is batting .279 during league play.
- As a team, the Maroon & Gold are batting .224 in league play compared to .235 overall. The pitchers have a 3.85 ERA in league games and a 5.62 overall ERA
UP NEXT
Iona wraps up the regular season series against Siena tomorrow afternoon at Siena Baseball Field in Loudonville, NY at noon. The Game can be followed live via
live stats.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Iona Baseball: Twitter and YouTube (Email Updates)
