Box Score RINDGE, N.H. (May 20, 2016) – The Molloy College baseball team had to wait an extra day to get in the program's first-ever game in the NCAA Tournament; but the sixth-seeded Lions were felled by the third-seed Saint Thomas Aquinas College Spartans by a final score of 5-2 on Friday (May 20) at Pappas Field on the campus of Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H.
The contest actually began Thursday (May 19) as STAC and Molloy settled into their respective dugouts for the nightcap of the first day of the East Regional Tournament. The Lions batted first in the matchup and struck an opening chord to cross the first run of the game. After
Kevin Podell (Wantagh, N.Y.) collected an infield single up the third-base line and advanced to second on a groundout, sophomore
Elijah Leerdam (Jamaica, N.Y.) flared a pop fly into shallow right-center field off the end of the bat to score Podell with the game's first run. At 7:06 P.M., junior
Anthony Alberghina (Staten Island, N.Y.) settled in for a 1-1 pitch from STAC starter Matt Kostalos (Staten Island, N.Y.). But at that moment in time, Pappas Field became drenched as the skies opened and lightning caused a delay in the game. The delay lasted 14 hours and 52 minutes as both teams took to the field Friday morning shortly before 10 a.m. to resume the contest.
When the action resumed and STAC came to bat in the bottom of the first against
Ronald Bauer (Hicksville, N.Y.), the Spartans evened up the score. Lead-off batter Joseph Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tripled down the right field line and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Deven Del Priore (Point Pleasant, N.J.). Both teams failed to score until the bottom of the fourth inning when Saint Thomas Aquinas took the lead for good. Following a lead-off walk from Nicholas Gargan (Nesconset, N.Y.), sophomore outfielder Giovanni Dingcong (Daly City, Calif.) belted a deep fly ball over the fence in left field that scored two runs and gave STAC a 3-1 lead. The Spartans scored another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Joe Boland (Hyde Park, N.Y.) and also a run in the seventh thanks to a fielding error.
Molloy scratched across a run in the top of the eighth inning as sophomore catcher
Jack McCarty (Huntington, N.Y.) led off the frame with a single. After McCarty moved to second on a wild pitch, pinch hitter
Anthony Galanoudis (Farmingdale, N.Y.) chopped one to the deep left side of the infield and crossed first base safely to put runners on the corners with nobody out. With senior
Deilyn Guzman (East Hampton, N.Y.) at the plate, McCarty and Galanoudis both advanced a base on another wild pitch; the run that came home cut STAC's lead to three runs at 5-2. The Lions, however, were unable to score any further runs in the frame and Kostalos ended up going the distance to pick up the victory.
Molloy will face elimination on Friday (May 20) at 1:30 p.m. as the Lions face the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University at Pappas Field.
