Jesse Borek — Staff Writer
GARDEN CITY, New York — It took Mother Nature long enough to relent and allow the Adelphi Panthers to have their home opener, but it was worth every waking moment as the club swept Assumption College to inch closer back to the .500 mark, now sitting at 4-5 on the year.
In the opener, junior ace Jonathon Mulford took to the hill, and outside of a bumpy first inning, was brilliant. After serving up a three-run home run in the opening frame, Mulford would shut down the Greyhound offense up until his exit from the contest.
Going seven innings strong, Mulford threw a whopping 121 pitches on Sunday afternoon. Yet, he never truly seemed to lose a lot of velocity on his fastball, only opting for more curveballs as the game progressed. Over those seven frames, he’d allow five hits and walk four, while allowing four runs (three of which were earned; he dropped a pop-up on the infield in the seventh to be charged with an error and make the final run “unearned”) and striking out eight.
After having a crooked number hung up on them in the first, the Panthers wasted little time in responding. Aided by an Assumption error, Adelphi played small ball on their way to two runs, pulling the deficit back to 3-2 at the end of one, from where it would be Mulford who took over.
Finally rewarding their ace for his effort on the hill, the heart of the Panthers’ order put Adelphi back ahead in the bottom of the fifth. The 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup of senior Nick Zito, sophomore Robert Vani, and sophomore Eric Hassell, all had RBI hits in consecutive order to jump start the offense and put AU ahead 5-3, and ultimately for good.
Things got sticky in the top of the eighth with Adelphi clinging to a one-run lead and senior Mike Cranston coming in out of the bullpen. With the bases loaded and two outs, he got a comeback to the mound to avert disaster and keep the Panthers ahead. With another run of insurance in the bottom of the eighth, he’d have just enough cushion to slam the door on the contest in the top of the ninth, giving Adelphi a victory in their home opener.
It was a collective effort with the bats for Adelphi, who reached the double-digit mark in hits, with only one starter failing to collect one. Senior second baseman Robert Sharkey set the pace with a multi-hit game from the leadoff spot.
After the doubleheader on Sunday, the Panthers will have a quick turnaround this week when they head to Dowling on Tuesday afternoon for a one-game tilt, before returning home for another one-game matchup with Pace on Wednesday.
Due to the weather, the Panthers may be stretched thin over the coming weeks. But having fought back to earn both victories on Sunday, it’ll be tough to count them out in the future.
