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Saints baseball takes a trio of games from Vassar on Sunday

Posted 4/17/11

Junior Matt DeLuca scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of one game and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh of another as St. Lawrence University's baseball …

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Saints baseball takes a trio of games from Vassar on Sunday

Posted

Junior Matt DeLuca scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of one game and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh of another as St. Lawrence University's baseball team took three games from Vassar College in Liberty League play on blustery Tom Fay Field Sunday.

The Saints, now 12-13 overall and 8-7 in league play, won the continuation of a game suspended by the weather on Saturday 5-4, and then took both ends of a doubleheader, winning the first game 6-5 and the second 8-3. Vassar drops to 10-14 overall and 5-10 in league play.

Rookie second baseman Bryan Palermo went four for 11 with five runs scored and outfielder Brian Magovney was three for eight in the series with five runs driven in.

In the continuation of Saturday's game which was called due to rain with Vassar leading 2-1 with two out and two on in the top of the fourth, Andy Weitzel took over for starter Chris Cook and earned his second win of the week as the Saints rallied in the bottom of the seventh.

The Saints broke on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first on Saturday as Brian Magovney drew a bases loaded walk, but the Brewers came back to take the lead in the top of the fourth on run-scoring doubles by Sal Costanzo and Devon Luongo.  Weitzel came on to start Sunday's continuation and got out of the inning with a ground out.

Vassar took a 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth as Brett Zaziski singled in two runs, but the Saints came right back in the bottom of the inning with two of their own to stay within a run. Bryan Palermo hit a one-out single to start the fifth inning rally and after Paul Piatelli walked and Khifer O'Connor grounded out to give the Saints runners at second and third with two out, Magovney singled to drive in one run and Jeff Kott singled to drive in the second run.

The Saints staged their game winning rally in the bottom of the seventh as O'Connor led off with a single to right and pinch runner Tom Pasquali was sacrificed to second by Magovney. Kott grounded out for the second out, but walks to DeLuca and Taylor Engle loaded the bases. Braddock then took two strikes before lacing a line drive single down the right field line to score Pasquali and DeLuca to win the game.

In game one of Sunday's doubleheader,  Vassar took a 1-0 lead off Saint starter Jason Conde in the top of the third on a bunt single by Joe Bubar and a ground out by Liam Lee, but the Saints came right back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third as Joshin Atone singled off Vassar pitcher John MacGregor and with two out stole second. Palermo then drew a walk before Piatelli doubled to center to score both runners.

The Saints made it 5-1 with three in the bottom of the fifth as Carter Franz led off with a walk, Palermo singled to center and with one out, O'Connor doubled to right to drive in one run. DeLuca then hit a sacrifice fly to center for the second run and Magovney's single to left plated O'Connor with the third run.

Vassar rallied with four runs, three of them unearned, in the top of the seventh. Conde hit Michael Perrone with a pitch to start the inning and after a ground out, Costanzo singled to left, moving perrone to third. Zaziski's wind-blown fly ball was dropped for an error in the outfield, scoring Perrone. Kyle Donaldson then came in for Conde, and after a wild pitch moved runners to second and third, Luoungo singled off Donaldson's glove to drive in the second run. A dropped double play ball loaded the bases and David Ringold delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 5-5 before Donaldson worked out of the inning.

The Saints came right back to win it in the bottom of the seventh as Palermo led off with a single, was sacrificed to second and after O'Connor was walked, DeLuca lined a single to center to score the game-winning run.

The Saints jumped on Vassar starter Lawrence Flicker for six runs in the top of the first inning of the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday and rolled to the 8-3 win as Pat Considine did not allow a hit until the bottom of the sixth inning with the Saints playing as the visiting team on their home field.

The Saints did all of their damage in the first with two out as Magovney hit a two-run double, Engle doubled home Magoveny, Braddock singled in Engle, Joshin Atone singled home DeLuca, who had walked and Carter Franz came through with his second single of the inning to drive in Braddock.

Vassar got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on two hit batters and two walks and scored twice in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Mike Perrone and an error, but Donaldson came in to shut off the rally and earned the save, getting the final out of the sixth and three quick outs in the seventh. The Saints added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Piatelli and O'Connor hit back-to-back singles and were moved up a base when Magovney sacrificed. Engle then singled to center, scoring Piatelli and O'Connor scored when a throw back to second base to try to get Engle advancing went into the outfield.

The Saints are scheduled to return to action with a game against Hamilton at Watertown's Duffy Fairgrounds on Wednesday at 6 p.m.