NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College baseball team dropped its series finale to Quinnipiac, losing by final score of 10-6 on Sunday afternoon. The Bobcats used a five-run 4th inning, including the go-ahead grand-slam to retake the lead and ultimately pull away from the Gaels at City Park. 

In the loss, Brad Polinsky had a career-day going 4-4 including an RBI single in the eight inning. Polisnky's four hits are a career-high and the senior catcher also threw out two runners from behind the plate.

GAME SUMMARY

Quinnipiac began the afternoon by scoring two-runs on an RBI double from Ian Ostberg, to take an early 2-0 advantage. Iona's starter Joey Kasper got the next batter to strikeout to end the inning, leaving Ostberg stranded at second. Kasper bounced back in the next inning, striking out two consectuive batters with the third out coming from the arm of Polinsky, who threw out Tuffy McGwire at second.

The Gaels managed to get a run back in the bottom half of the second, with Phoenix Bowman hitting an infield RBI single on a slow roller that scored Polinsky from third base. The following inning, Iona evened the game up after Forney, who singled to reach base, scored on a wild pitch. Jennings, who also reached base via a single, was thrown out trying to advance to third on the same play. 

Quinnipiac answered right back in the fourth on a grand-slam from Sean Swenson to give the visitors a 6-2 lead. The Bobcats added another run later in the inning on an infield RBI to go up five-runs after four innings of play. 

Trailing by 10-2 now, the Gaels got three runs back in the eight inning after an RBI double from Jennings that scored Nick Carnevale from second. Jake Field followed up with an RBI sac-fly to right field to score Forney and later in the inning with two-outs, Polinsky singled up the middle to score Jennings for his 11th RBI of the season.

Working around a leadoff double in the ninth, reliever Matt Zguro recovered nicely, picking up his second strikeout and getting a pair of fly-outs to keep the deficit at five runs. 

Down to its final out, the Gaels mounted a rally attempt with Carnevale driving in Jim Kemp on an RBI single to left center. Forney followed up with a single of his own, but the rally stalled there as Anthony Ambrosino got Jennings to groundout to clinch the 10-6 victory for Quinnipiac.

UP NEXT

The Gaels begin a busy week with five upcomings games on the schedule. The first two will be a pair of road non-conference games against Fordham and St. Johns, followed by a weekend slate against Marist on the road next weekend. 

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