Dan Fratus collected two hits for Stonehill in the loss (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Tackett's grand slam powers Felician past Stonehill
Winter Park, Fla. (March 6, 2013) – The Stonehill College baseball team, ranked 21st in the most recent NCBWA national poll, fell to the Felician College Golden Falcons, 7-3 in a non-conference matchup on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.
Designated hitter Jordan Tackett (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford) drove in six runs to pace the Golden Falcons. Tackett went 3-5 with a triple and a grand slam for Felician, who has now beaten the Skyhawks in back-to-back days after dropping the first two meetings of the year.
Senior Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I./Bishop Feehan) led the way for Stonehill, going 2-5 and adding two RBIs. Junior Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) chipped in with two hits of his own for the Skyhawks.
Jack Fowler (Shrewsbury, N.J./Red Bank Regional) pitched three scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win for the Golden Eagles. The left-handed pitcher yielded three hits and one walk, while striking out two. Dean Loucka (Wood-Ridge, N.J./Wood-Ridge) started and went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks.
Billy Karalis went 2-5 and drove in two RBIs for Stonehill (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Junior Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) was charged with his first loss of the season for Stonehill. Rugel gave up seven runs in 7.1 innings, including eight hits and three walks. Mike Krupczak (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) pitched an inning and a third of relief, holding the Golden Falcons scoreless in the appearance.
The Skyhawks took an early 2-0 in the third inning. After Chris Callahan (Southington, Conn./Holy Cross HIgh) singled and Christian Baglini (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame High) was hit by a pitch, James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) advanced them to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, leading up to Karalis' two-RBI single up the middle.
Felician would answer back in the top-half of the fifth inning. Tackett started the inning with a single, making way for Aaron Brill's (West Palm Beach, Fla./John I. Leonard) RBI single later in the inning to make it 2-1.
Stonehill responded in the bottom half of the inning when DeAlto scored on an error by the first baseman to make it 3-1.
The Golden Eagles tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. After Jay Collazo (Wall Township, N.J./Manasquan) and Matt Caposio (Staten Island, N.Y./Poly Prep) singled, Tackett tripled down the right field line to make it 3-3. Tackett would give Felician a 7-3 lead in the eighth inning when he hit a grand slam over the right field wall.
The Skyhawks threatened in the bottom of the ninth. Matt Anziano (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) and Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) opened the inning with a walk and a single, but Fowler locked down and retired the next three batters in order to close out the Skyhawks.
Next up for Stonehill (7-4, 0-0) is a 6:00 pm meeting with Rollins College tomorrow evening. Felician (7-8, 0-0 CACC) takes on Rollins College later today on the back-end of a double-header. The Golden Falcons will then face off against Assumption College tomorrow at 11:00 am.
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