NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College baseball program split its double header against Quinnipiac on Saturday, May 4. Senior
Fran Kinsey had a game-winning walk-off hit against the Bobcats in game one as junior
Stephen Hansen continued his stellar pitching in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
GAME ONE: Iona 3, Quinnipiac 2 (10 Innings)
The Gaels and Bobcats entered the tenth inning tied, 2-2. Rookie
Drew Helmstetter, who replaced Hansen come the top of the ninth, retired Quinnipiac in order to begin the frame. Come the home half, junior
Brian Picone started the game-winning rally off with a walk. He advanced to second on a successful sacrifice bunt from senior
Joe DeMaio. Senior
Niko Switalla walked to bring up Kinsey, who ended the game with a double to right field, plating Picone.
Helmstetter gets the winning the decision tossing two innings in relief, but that's only after the stellar start from Hansen. Iona's ace went the first eight innings and allowed two earned runs on five hit and two walks. He struck out 10 batters and threw 127 pitches.
Andrew Workman suffered the losing decision for Quinnipiac. He had come into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning as Iona threatened to win the game in regulation length. In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore
Sam Punzi led the inning off with a double and was replaced by pinch-runner
Jon Budesa. The Maroon & Gold graduate student was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning on a fielder's choice ground out to the pitcher off the bat of sophomore
Michael Gorman.
Iona's first two runs came in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rookie
Jake Field had a single up the middle to score Punzi who had reached base on a two-out double. The rally continued with rookie
Daniel Palermo knocking a triple down the right field line to bring home Field to give the Maroon & Gold a 2-1 lead at the time.
Quinnipiac's two runs came in the top of the fifth and eighth innings. Evan Vulgamore and Kevin Huscher had the two RBIs for the Bobcats.
Punzi, Field, Palermo and freshman
Will Jennings all had two hits for Iona in game one. Kinsey, Punzi, Field and Palermo all had at least one extra-base hit. Switalla reached base twice on walks. The Gaels stranded 14 runners on base compared to seven for the Bobcats.
GAME TWO: Quinnipiac 10, Iona 2
Iona took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but from then on out it was Quinnipiac taking control in game two. Punzi hit a single down the left field line that scored Kinsey, who was only able to advance to scoring position via a pass ball.
Iona junior
Chris Dodrill tossed the first two innings scoreless before Quinnipiac tied the game at one in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly from Andre Marrero. It remained tied at one until the fifth frame. Dodrill had a runner on first and two outs and was looking to escape without any trouble. The next three batters reached base and Dodrill was relieved by freshman
Paul Sullivan. The Bobcats finished the inning scoring three runs on three hits and left runners on second and third.
Quinnipiac starter Chris Enns, who was solid in a complete game effort, tossed a deafening 1-2-3 shutdown inning after his team took the lead. What was a three run deficit then ballooned nine in the top of the sixth. Sophomore
Michael DeSanti took the hill and Quinnipiac loaded the bases with nobody out. One Bobcat struck out before Marrero started a string on baserunners paraded around the bases. After another pitching change, the final results of the top of the sixth read six Quinnipiac runs on four hits, one error and two walks.
The Gaels scored one unearned run in the bottom of the seventh with junior
Stephen Furman scoring on an RBI groundout by Jennings.
Three Quinnipiac student-athletes had multiple hits. Four Bobcats had more than one run batted in. Iona had just four hits in game two from Kinsey, Punzi, Furman and Budesa. Enns kept the Maroon & Gold in check over seven full innings. He threw 92 pitches and struck out six.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona had won three straight games against Quinnipiac prior to game two loss. It has claimed victory in five of last seven games. Prior to recent success, the Gaels had lost seven straight to the Bobcats.
- Iona's win in game one ended a five game losing streak. The Gaels have split four MAAC doubleheader days this season.
- The Maroon & Gold's four doubles is tied for second most in a single game this season. The season-best single game total is five which has happened twice against Stony Brook (Mar. 12) and Rider (Apr. 14).
- Iona was given an intentional walk for just the third time this season in game one. The previous other two occurrences came against Marshal (Feb. 22) and Stony Brook (Apr. 3).
- Hansen's ERA in MAAC play is 2.66 and he has a WHIP of 1.14. He has a ridiculous 9:1 strikeout to walk ratio against league opponents. Kinsey is the leading hitter for the Gaels in MAAC games. He is hitting .333 with an OPS of .987.
UP NEXT
Iona and Quinnipiac wrap up the regular season series tomorrow, Sunday, May 5. First pitch from City Park is set for noon. Follow the action live via
live stats.
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