HAMDEN, CT - The Iona University Baseball team evened up their series with Quinnipiac after defeating the Bobcats 9-6 on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 3-1, Iona scored four runs in the fifth inning capped off by
Jim Pasquale's go-ahead bases clearing double that put the Gaels up for good.
Game Summary
Earning his first career win on the mound,
Carl Kuentzel pitched six strong innings, only allowing four runs while adding three strikeouts. The Gaels gave Kuentzel some run support in the second inning after Pasquale broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single to left field, scoring
Luca Lotito on the play.
Quinnipiac managed to grab the lead following back-to-back homers in the third inning but Kuentzel recovered, getting a fly-out and strikeout to end the inning. The Bobcats added a run in the fourth on a sac-bunt RBI to take a 3-1 lead after four innings of play.
Entering the fifth down two runs, Iona put together four consecutive singles including Lotito's opposite field RBI knock to cut the deficit to 3-2. Pasquale followed up with Iona's fifth straight hit, clearing the bases on a three-run double, giving Iona a 5-3 lead.
Leading 5-3, the Gaels picked up another run after
James Kemp drew an RBI walk in the sixth. After Kuentzel pitched a scoreless fifth, Quinnipiac managed to get a run across in the sixth on an RBI double but the lefty continued to battle, finishing off the inning with an inning ending fly-out. Kuentzel's 6.1 innings pitched is the longest from an Iona starter this season.
Leading 6-4 entering the eighth, Iona picked up three key insurance runs on clutch hits from Lotito and Forney. Lotito picked up his third hit of the afternoon on a double to score
Will Jennings on the play and with two-outs, Forney extended Iona's lead on a two-run RBI single to give the Gaels a 9-4 lead.
Quinnipiac got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning, on multiple singles but
Matt Zguro came in relief and halted the Bobcat rally. Zguro stepped into a one-out bases-loaded jam, but managed to pick up a strikeout and line-out, stranding the go-ahead run at the plate.
Zguro returned to the mound in the ninth inning and sealed Iona's 9-6 victory with a strikeout, completing the impressive five-out save.
Up Next
Iona and Quinnipiac will conclude the series tomorow at 1:00 PM.
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