NYIT Head Coach Frank Catalanotto on their 13-5 victory over Queens College pic.twitter.com/HT3ERUNOED
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 30, 2019
NYIT has found all sorts of ways to win ballgames this year. Frank Catalanotto‘s squad continued their winning ways with a DH sweep over ECC rival Queens College on Saturday afternoon by the scores of 13-5 and 5-4.
Here’s how it went down:
Game 1
D.J. Masuck got the start for the Bears, he ran into immediate trouble when he allowed a leadoff home run to freshman John Strauss, but that lead would not last long for the Knights.
The Bears got on the board in the second inning on an RBI single by Nick Tedesco to score Matt Malone. The real action occurred in the third inning, when the bats exploded for seven runs, beginning with a grand slam off the bat of Ryan Kuskowski. Kieran Dowd followed with a solo shot and Tedesco added a solo shot of his own. E.J. Cumbo ripped an RBI single to extend the lead to 8-1.
Masuck allowed four runs in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Strauss and Lou Antos, as well as a sac fly and a bases loaded walk. He settled in after that, and was able to go eight innings to give the bullpen a rest for his fourth win of the season.
The offense tacked on five more runs, eclipsing double-digits for the fourth time this season.
Walk-off by Matt DeAngelis and NYIT completes the comeback, 5-4, and the sweep over Queens! pic.twitter.com/YvwzAL4CKm
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 30, 2019
Game 2
Sachem North grad Dennis Buckstein got the ball for the Knights. His offense staked him to a 3-0 lead on an RBI single by Matt Gutleber, RBI double by Antos and a fielder’s choice.
Trailing 3-0 would be a comfortable lead in many cases, but not with a red-hot Bears offense. They went to work and tied it up in the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Joe Pesce and RBI singles by Nic Lombardi and Ben McNeill to make it a new ballgame.
In the fifth inning, the Knights took a 4-3 lead on an RBI ground out by Eric Roubal and it appeared that the game might end that way as the Bears were down to their final three outs.
They would not go down easy, though, Matt Malone ripped an RBI single to score John LaRocca to tie the game and send it into extras.
Ryan Mueller, who came on in the fifth inning, was lights out. He fired four shutout innings and gave the Bears a chance to win via walk-off, which is exactly what they had in mind.
After the leadoff batter was retired, back-to-back singles and a sac bunt put the winning run 90 feet away and Matt DeAngelis sent the home crowd home happy with an RBI single to win it and complete the DH sweep. Mueller won his first game of the season.
With the victory, the Bears improve to 14-5 on the season and they will look for the series win tomorrow in Flushing at 3pm.
