OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Apr. 9, 2011) – NYIT baseball earned its first conference win of the season as it split Saturday’s doubleheader with Northern Colorado. The visiting Bears won the first game 15-3, while the NYIT Bears picked up a 6-5 victory in game two.

 

With the win, NYIT improved to 5-17 on the season and 1-2 in Great West Conference action. Northern Colorado is now 5-22 overall and 2-1 in league play. Northern Colorado also leads the series 2-1. NYIT will fight to split the series in the final on Sunday, Apr. 10 at Noon.

 

Senior Effrey Valdez (Flushing, N.Y.) led NYIT with a .571 clip on the day. He scored three times with three RBI. Of his four hits, two were homeruns. His four hits also put him on top of NYIT’s all-time career hits list with 271 and counting.

 

Sophomore Ali Rodriguez (Yorktown, Va.) also scored three times, while fellow classmate Dane Hardy (Willingboro, N.J.) had two RBI.

 

Game two’s battle on the mound went to rookie John Duggan (Belle Harbor, N.Y.). He tossed 6.0 innings and struck out four batters. Four of Northern Colorado’s runs were credited to him. Duggan is now 1-3 on the season. The save went to sophomore Ryan Dillabough (Whitby, Ontario, Canada). He pitched three innings of relief, struck out two and gave up one run on three hits.

 

Game 1 – Northern Colorado 15, NYIT 3

The visiting Bears unloaded in the first game. Northern Colorado scored multiple times in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings, while holding NYIT at bay.

 

NC claimed a 10-0 lead by the time NYIT was able to get onto the scoreboard. The home Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth off a Jerry Smith (Nesconset, N.Y.) single up the middle and a Hardy single to right center. Rodriguez and Valdez scored, respectively. However, the visiting Bears continued to push ahead as they earned a 15-2 advantage at the middle of the sixth. NYIT fought to rally but was only able to tack on one more run in the bottom of the sixth. Valdez scored with a leadoff homerun to left center.

 

Joe Sawicki earned the complete game win. He struck out eight batters. The loss went to starting pitcher Preston Wasmund (Ajax, Canada). He surrendered 10 runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings of work. He was relieved by James Moussa (Averne, N.Y.), Steve Cotov (Ozone Park, N.Y.) and Nick Arevalo (Westbury, N.Y.). Moussa and Cotov combined for three innings and five runs. Meanwhile, Arevalo, in his first collegiate appearance, produced 1.1 innings of one-hit relief. He also struck out his first collegiate batter.

 

 

Game 2 – NYIT 6, Northern Colorado 5

Although NYIT claimed an early 1-0 lead, Northern Colorado quickly tacked on three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 edge. Yet, NYIT fought back with two runs in the bottom half to knot the game 3-3.

 

After second baseman Steve McNamara (Levittown, N.Y.) was dealt a leadoff walk, he advanced to second as catcher George Carroll (Bayside, N.Y.) reached on a NC fielding error. The runners advanced as Rodriguez reached on another NC error. With bases loaded, McNamara scored as Rodriguez and Ryan Campbell (Bellmore, N.Y.) were caught in double play. Valdez plated the second run of the inning as he reached on a third NC error. Carroll scored the run.

 

It was a quiet inning and a half before NYIT claimed a one-run edge, 4-3, in the bottom of the fourth. Rodriguez scored on a Campbell single up the middle. Yet, Northern Colorado quickly evened the score once again with a run in the top of the fifth. Casey Coy doubled to right field to score Ben Packard, who reached with a single to left field. The game was tied 4-4.

 

The fight continued in the bottom half as Valdez hit his second home run of the day, a leadoff blast to right field. Smith scored the second run of the inning that gave the Bears a 6-4 advantage. He got on with a double down the left field line and then scored on a wild pitch. Valdez homerun proved to be the game-winning run. Northern Colorado tried to rally for a third time in the seventh but only one run scored on a sacrifice fly from Coy that plated T.J. Berge for the final, 6-5.

 

On Deck

The battle of the Bears comes to a conclusion on Sunday, Apr. 10 at President’s Field. First pitch is scheduled for Noon.

 

About NYIT
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in more than 90 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

 

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 85,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

 

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Sabrina Polidoro

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Sports Information Director
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