FAIRFIELD, CT — The Iona University Baseball team fell in both games of the doubleheader at Sacred Heart. Game one saw the Gaels bats unable to find the big hit and go down 7-1, while in game two a taxed bullpen was unable to hold the lead and the Maroon & Gold fell 11-7. Junior
Damian Rodriguez and graduate student
James Kemp each had four hits on the day, while freshman
Sean Stephenson hit a homer in game two, but the Gaels bats still could not keep up. Seniors
Eric Gialloreto and
Andrelys Payamps each went six plus innings, but could not match with Sacred Heart's Trombley who went for eight innings in game one. The Pioneers bullpen gave up three runs in four innings of work compared to the Maroon & Gold's which gave up nine in three plus innings.
Game One
The bats started off quiet for both sides on the day as the first run came on a hit by pitch, followed by a sacrifice bunt then an error and finally a single in the bottom of the third inning. The Gaels would tie it up in the following inning after a Kemp lead off double and sacrifice bunt from sophomore Jc Frias to put him on third. Senior Matt Wessels would drive him in to tie it at one all. In the bottom of the frame however, Sacred Heart would regain the lead after a two out triple and RBI single. Rodriguez would lead off with a double the next inning but end up being out at home in a fielder's choice two batters later. A double play in the bottom of the fifth sent the Gaels up in the sixth still only down one.
After Iona was sat down 1-2-3, the Pioneers would add another run on a sacrifice fly after two bunts in the inning. The seventh inning would see Iona fall behind 7-1 and need both seniors Carl Kuentzel and Robert Lasbury to get out of the inning. Sophomore Kyle Hard would pitch the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Gaels offense could not muster up any chance of a comeback in the game one. Gialloreto got the loss, his third, and Trombley earned his fourth win for SHU.
Game Two
After a short break, the Gaels kicked off game two. Each team was sat down 1-2-3 in the first inning. The Gaels were threatening with two on and no outs in the second, but three straight strikeouts kept them off the board. They would however take the lead in the third inning when Stephenson launched his sixth homer of the year. Stephenson now batting .339, is second on the Gaels with a .930 OPS. Sacred Heart would tie it up in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly. Iona would get in position for a rally in the fourth after Wessels led off with a single, graduate student Jayson Gonzalez reached on an error and senior Anthony Febo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior Anthony Zollo would drive in a run and reach on an error and Rodriguez would single scoring another to go up 3-1.
In the sixth, Gonzalez would get hit by a pitch to lead it off before scoring on a Rodriguez single. Iona would go up 7-1 in the top of the seventh after sophomore Jordan Overton got plunked, Kemp walked and Frias singled to load the bases. Wessels would get hit and drive in a run, before Gonzalez would hit a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 6-1. After another error, Zollo would drive in the final run for the Gaels on a fielder's choice.
Sacred Heart would score ten unanswered runs in the bottom of the seventh and win the game. Junior Sean Davis was tagged with the loss, his second.
TEAM STATS
- On the day Iona won the strikeout battle 14-12
- The Pioneers led on hits 22-16
- Each club commit six errors on the day, with ten total errors in game two
- Sacred Heart stole two bases, while Iona was caught twice
notable nuggets
- Gialloreto is now five strikeouts away from 100 career.
Up Next
The Gaels conclude the series with the finale tomorrow at noon.
