NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University baseball team fell to Mount St. Mary's, 12-5 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Both team's tallied double-digit hits at City Park with the Mountaineers holding a 12-10 advantage for the contest.
Freshman
Carter Groen went 4-for-4 with three runs batted in. Junior
Jayson Gonzalez tallied a pair of doubles and graduate
Jim Pasquale added a pair of singles and a run driven in.
GAME SUMMARY
The visitors got started in the opening frame loading up the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch. From there a two-run single, an RBI single and sacrifice fly put them out in front 4-0.
Iona punched back in the third as Gonzalez opened the inning with a double to left center and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore
Josiah Ragsdale reached on a seven-pitch walk to put runners at the corners. Groen lined an RBI single up the middle for the first run of the frame. Pasquale followed with a sharp RBI single to right field. The inning continued as graduate student
Garret Gray made it a 4-3 ball game with an RBI single to left field.
Mount responded with a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI fielder's choice to extend the lead to two.
The Gaels answered in the bottom of the frame as Ragsdale reached on a catcher's interference. He proceeded to steal second and third to get in scoring position. Groen stepped to the plate and ripped the 3-2 pitch to left field to bring the score to 5-4.
After a quiet fifth inning, the Mountaineers extended the lead back to two on a two-out RBI single to right field. Mount tacked on one more in the seventh on a bases loaded RBI walk before adding to its total in the eighth on an RBI single to left field.
The visitors capped their scoring in the ninth, scoring four runs on three hits to seal the game.
Iona added the final run of the game in the bottom of the ninth as Groen drove in Gonzalez with two-outs to bring the final score to 12-5.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Groen recorded the first four-hit game of his career and drove in three runs for the second time. He has registered 10 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI contests in his first season.
- Gonzalez posted a pair of doubles for the first time this season and second in his tenure with the Maroon & Gold.
- Pasquale tallied his 11th multi-hit game and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
- Sophomore Andrew Gaines tied his career high with five strikeouts in three innings of work, his longest relief outing of the season.
UP NEXT
The Gaels are back in action on Wednesday, May 1 for a 6:00 p.m. start at St. John's.