NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College baseball program earned its first win of the season on Thursday afternoon, defeating Saint Peter's 8-5 at City Park. With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom half of the eighth inning,
Jake Field,
Luca Lotito, and
Phoenix Bowman all drove in runs on RBI singles to push the Gaels past the Peacocks.
GAME SUMMARY
Blake Helmstetter started his afternoon by retiring six of the first seven batters he faced with four of the outs coming via strikeout. After a quick third inning, Helmstetter found himself in some trouble in the fourth with the bases loaded, but the sophomore kept the game scoreless with an inning ending strikeout.
In the home half of the fourth, two consecutive singles from Bowman and
Vicente Mendoza set-up an RBI opportunity for
Nick Carnevale. Carnevale delivered, going the other way for an RBI double to bring in Bowman for the game's first run. Adding to the lead,
Nick Forney drove in Mendoza on a sac-fly to give Iona a 2-0 lead after four innings of play.
Saint Peter's managed to even up the score on an error followed by a sac-fly in the sixth and with the go-ahead runner on third, Helmstetter got a three-pitch strikeout to end the inning and keep the game tied. Helmstetter finished the afternoon receiving a no-decision while recording a career-high 11 strikeouts in his six innings of work.
In the home half of the inning, Iona retook the lead on two sac-fly's from
Will Jennings and
Brad Polinsky to give Iona their second two-run lead of the afternoon. With two-outs in the inning Lotito drove in Iona's third-run of the innings on an RBI double, giving the Gaels a 5-2 lead after six innings.
The Peacocks got a run back in the seventh on an RBI double and with the bases-loaded and only one out,
Michael Untracht came up clutch in relief, recording two big outs to keep Iona in front by two runs. In the eighth inning, Saint Peter's tacked on two more runs on an RBI walk and sac-fly to tie the ball game up at 5. With runners on second and third and the Peacocks looking to take its first lead of the game, Untracht managed to record his lone strikeout, to keep the game knotted at 5-5.
All afternoon Iona had an answer for Saint Peter's and the home half of the eighth inning was no different. Forney began the inning doubling to right center, with Jennings following up with a sac-bunt which he'd reach base on after an error. Polinsky kept the line moving with a single, setting up
Jake Field's go-ahead RBI single to left field to break the tie and give Iona the lead back at 6-5. Lotito extended the lead to two-runs on an RBI single and Bowman provided some extra insurance with the Gaels fifth hit and third RBI single of the inning, putting Iona in command at 8-5.
Gavin Bates locked up the save for Iona in the top of ninth, recording a game-ending strikeout to secure Iona's first win of the '22 season on Thursday afternoon.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Head coach Conor Burke earned his first victory at the helm, Burke is currently the second youngest coach in the country.
- Helmstetter's 11 strikeouts are not only a career-high but also the most in a game by an Iona pitcher this season.
- Helmstetter's 11 K's brings him to 35 on the season which is now currently a team best.
- The Gaels 18 hits mark a season-high with batters 1-6 in the lineup each recording an RBI.
- Forney's four hits and Bowman's three-hits are both career-highs, and Forney's 4-4 day also marks a team-high for most hits in a game this season.
- After each driving in runs, Lotito and Jennings are now currently tied for most RBIs on the team at 11.
UP NEXT
The series continues tomorrow afternoon, with game two against the Peacocks starting at 3:00 PM from City Park.
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