 |
| Photo Credit: Adelphi Athletics |
The Adelphi Panthers shocked No. 1 ranked Southern Connecticut with a 10-4 victory, which puts them in the conference tournament, hosted by Southern New Hampshire beginning on Friday.
The Panthers, now 22-21 got out to a 4-0 first inning lead against Rocco Cundari, who entered play with a 5-2 record and an ERA of 0.85. He previously threw a shutout against the Panthers in April, but they got out to a fast start thanks to a bases loaded walk by Robert Vani and a two-run single by Eric Hassell. They added a fourth first-inning run on a fielder’s choice. The Panthers extended the lead to 5-0 in the second inning on an RBI single by Rich Mejia.
The Owls made a game of it, narrowing down the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth inning on a bases loaded double play.
The Panthers broke the game open with a five-run seventh, highlighted by a two-run double by Kyle Ambury. Vani and Vincent Sharkey contributed RBI singles to pad the lead.
Panther’s starter John Mulford did exactly what was asked of him; he limited the potent Owls lineup to three earned runs in 7.2 innings and provided much-needed cushion for the bullpen. Matt Abramowitz, the ever-steady reliever for the Panthers threw the final 1.1 innings to close the door. He struck out one batter and yielded only one hit.
Senior caption Kevin Hutzel provided four hits out of the second spot in the lineup and scored one run.
“The lineup did a great job of getting the leadoff man on and staying aggressive on the bases,” said Hutzel. “Mejia, Vani and Hassell had balanced approaches and were able to drive in crucial runs,” he added.
The Panthers will take on Stonehill on Friday at 12 p.m. The Skyhawks enter with a 29-18 record. They have an underwhelming .253 team average but an imposing 2.49 team ERA; including two dominating starting pitchers.
Adelphi will be the underdog, but that did not prevent them from pulling the 4/1 upset today. They will have a chance to make a surprise run in this tournament if they get depth from TJ Santiago and unexpected production from the lineup.
Notes: Cliff Brantley now has an incredible 71 hits and .410 average…Adelphi will be looking to clinch their first NE-10 conference title since 2011.
