RADNOR, Pa. - After suffering a ninth-inning loss to sixth-seeded Wesley Friday afternoon to begin the pool play round of the Atlantic East Conference Tournament, the fourth-seeded Immaculata University baseball team kept its conference championship hopes alive with a resounding, 28-5 victory over top-seeded Cabrini behind nine home runs and a complete-game effort on the mound from senior
Billy Manzo.
Richard Fontanillas set a program record with three home runs and eight runs batted in in the offensive onslaught and totaled four home runs and nine RBI between the two games. Senior
Tom Prato homered three times Friday, including two against Cabrini.
Manzo allowed five runs on seven hits over nine strong innings while striking out seven to pick up his sixth win of the season and retired the first nine batters he faced to set the tone early in a clutch performance.
The Mighty Macs set several offensive program records in the win over Cabrini, including home runs (9), runs (28), hits (27), RBI (26), individual home runs (Fontanillas, 3), individual RBI (Fontanillas, 8), individual runs (Prato, 5), individual hits (Kmiec, 5), individual total bases (Fontanillas, 13). Fontanillas also set a new single-season program record with his eighth home runs of the season.
#6 WESLEY 11, #4 IMMACULATA 8
HOW IT HAPPENED
-After surrendering a first-inning run to the Wolverines, Fontanillas and Kmiec gave the Macs their first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the first with a pair of solo homers. Wesley answered back to draw even at two in the top of the third, but Prato broke the 2-2 tie with a towering two-run homer to dead center in the home half.
-The two sides were deadlocked at six through five and a half innings, but a bases loaded walk to Prato and an infield error off the bat of
Connor Blesi put the Macs back out ahead by two heading into the seventh.
-Wesley cut the IU lead down to one in the top of the seventh with a run-scoring double before plating four runs in the top of the ninth to take back the lead, 11-8, before turning the Macs away in the bottom half to pick up the victory.
IU LEADERS AT THE PLATE
-Prato: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
-Fontanillas: 2-4, HR
-Kmiec: 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3R
IU LEADERS ON THE MOUND
-Grandelli: 2 IP, 4H, 2R, 2K
#4 IMMACULATA 28, #1 CABRINI 5
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Macs posted 28 runs on 27 hits on the strength of nine home runs on the afternoon, all of which set program records.
Domenic Dellabarba hit the first of the nine in the fourth inning - the first of his career - a two-run shot to left-center.
-IU posted at least five runs in four innings to down the Cavaliers in a big way. Fontanillas homered three times and drove in eight in the contest to set single-game records, while also reaching eight home runs for the year to set a new single-season program record. His second of three homers was a seventh-inning grand slam.
-Kmiec paced the Mighty Mac lineup with five hits - tying the single-game program record - while
Cameron Delisle, Blesi, Prato and Fontanillas finished the nightcap with four hits apiece. Prato homered twice while Blesi and Kmiec each homered once.
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Ty Esenwein lifted his second home run of the season with a seventh inning solo shot to left-center.
IU LEADERS AT THE PLATE
-Fontanillas: 4-6, 3 HR (8), 8 RBI, 4R
-Prato: 4-6, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI, 5R
-Delisle: 4-6, 3B, 2 RBI, 3R
-Blesi: 4-5, HR (4), 4 RBI
-Kmiec: 5-6, HR, 4 RBI, 4R
IU LEADERS ON THE MOUND
-Manzo: W (6-2), CG, 7H, 5R, 7K
UP NEXT
Immaculata (21-16) faces another elimination game Saturday morning against #6 Wesley at 11 a.m. The winner of the morning game will advance to take on #1 Cabrini at 2 p.m. with the winner moving on to the Atlantic East Championship series next weekend.
