LANTANA, Fla. (Mar. 9, 2015) - On Monday, the LIU Post baseball team fell to No. 1 Tampa, 20-9, at the Santaluces Sports Complex in Lantana.
After a scoreless first inning, Tampa (17-3) pushed a run across in each of the next seven.
Trailing 5-0 after three innings, the Pioneers (0-4) put up four runs in their half of the fourth. Graduate outfielders
Vinny Iacono (Nesconset, N.Y.) and
Rich Maccarone (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and red-shirt senior
Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) loaded the bases to start the frame with three straight singles. Then, with one out, junior second baseman
Matt Bowers (Staten Island, N.Y.) singled down the right-field line, scoring Iacono and Maccarone.
Sophomore catcher
Kyle Fagan (Wantagh, N.Y.) subsequently drove in Brunetti with a fielder's choice. Two batters later, junior outfielder
John Bellock (Glen Cove, N.Y.) singled to right to plate Bowers, making it a one-run game (5-4).
The Spartans would answer furiously with two runs in their half of the fourth, five in the fifth and a run in both the sixth and seventh innings.
In the eighth, freshman
Lou Doria (Wantagh, N.Y.) entered the game as a pinch hitter. Ahead in the count, Doria, a tall lefty, sent one over the fence down the left-field line for an opposite-field solo homer, which happened to be his first career hit in just his second at-bat.
That seemed to spark the Pioneers. Bowers and Fagan respectively followed with a single and a walk. Bellock also drew a base on balls to load them up, before red-shirt senior infielder
Tom Tolan (Malverne, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to force home Bowers. Then, Iacono smacked a 1-1 pitch off the fence in left-center for his third hit. The double cleared the bases, scoring Fagan, Bellock and Tolan, all with two out. In all, the green and gold scored five in the eighth, but still came up short.
Iacono finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Bowers collected two hits, drove in two and scored two runs. Bellock went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Next up for head coach
Mike Gaffney and the Pioneers is Bloomfield. The Pioneers and Bears are set to square off at 11 a.m. on Tuesday (Mar. 10) at the Santaluces Sports Complex in Lantana.