Box Score FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The Immaculata baseball team got their nine-game Florida spring trip off to a great start on Saturday night as they came from behind to defeat Massachusetts Maritime Academy (0-1) by a score of 8-5. IU trailed 4-3 heading into the seventh inning, but scored five runs in their last three at bats to take control of the contest.
The Macs had 10 hits and six stolen bases on offense, while the Macs were flawless defensively and struck out 11 hitters.
Junior leftfielder
Jason McCormick got back on track with three hits, including a double, three runs scored, and one stolen base. Junior right fielder
Howie Kalamets (2-for-3, R, 2 SB, RBI) and junior catcher
Ryan Tecco (2-for-4, 2 RBI) had multi-hit efforts for the Mighty Macs.
Senior reliever
Nick Campione (1-0) earned the win in relief in his first appearance of the season with two innings of work and one run allowed while striking out two. Freshman
Brandon Shapiro earned the first save of his career with two innings of work while allowing one run and two hits.
Senior
Dan Whalen got his second start of the season and was throwing great early, sending down the Bucs in order in the first and second with four strikeouts, and the Mac offense got on the board in the top of the second.
Kalamets singled up the middle and stole second base, and Tecco quickly followed with a single to right field to score Kalamets for the 1-0 lead. The Bucs would break through in their half of the third with two runs to go up 2-1.
They added another in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead as the Mighty Macs went down in order three consecutive innings. Whalen would go five innings, surrendering three hits and three runs, while striking out nine and walking two, but IU trailed by two through five.
In the top of the sixth, McCormick led off with a single and stole second. Senior first baseman
Mike Lascomb (1-for-5, RBI, R) then singled to right to cut the deficit in half as McCormick came around to score. Lascomb would move to second on an error, and with two outs, Kalamets delivered an RBI double to tie the game, 3-3.
Campione came on in the bottom of the sixth and the Bucs loaded the bases with nobody out. After scoring a run on a single to put the Macs behind 4-3, Campione induced a force out at home and back-to-back strikeouts to escape further damage.
In the top of the seventh, the Macs broke the game open with three unearned runs. Pinch hitter
Dom Ficca was hit by a pitch, and sophomore designated hitter
Coleman Richards (1-for-3, SB, R, HBP) was hit by a pitch as well. McCormick then laid down a sacrifice bunt and would come all the way around to score on a throwing error by the pitcher as the Macs surged in front 6-4.
After Shapiro retired the side in the seventh, the Macs added another in the eighth as senior center fielder
Rick DiDomenico (1-for-4, R, 2 SB) singled, stole second and third, and came home on an RBI single by Tecco.
Shapiro surrendered a run in the eighth, but McCormick led off with a double in the ninth and scored on a squeeze play by senior
Ryan Ficca to head to the bottom of the ninth with an 8-5 lead. Shapiro retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the first IU victory of the season.
The Macs will be off tomorrow and will play Elizabethtown in a doubleheader on Monday.
