QU Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Iona, Retains First Place in MAAC

Saturday, April 28

Hamden, Conn.

1:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Iona

QU Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Iona, Retains First Place in MAAC

4/28/2018 6:32:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: QU Athletic Communications

Bruce Deckert | QU Athletic Communications

SCORE
Game 1 — Quinnipiac 2, Iona 1
Game 2 — Iona 3, Quinnipiac 0

RECORDS
Quinnipiac — 20-21, 11-3 MAAC
Iona — 11-28, 5-11 MAAC

LOCATION
QU Baseball Field — Hamden, Conn.

HAMDEN, Conn. — Holding fast to first place in the MAAC, the Quinnipiac Bobcats split a conference doubleheader with the Iona Gaels on Saturday at the QU Baseball Field. The Bobcats won game one 2-1 behind starter Taylor Luciani's gem, but lost game two 3-0 as Gaels starter Mario Ferraioli threw a seven-inning no-hitter.

Quinnipiac (11-3 MAAC) has been in first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since day one this season. Iona is in 10th place in the 11-team MAAC baseball standings.

GAME ONE: LUCIANI LEAVES NO DOUBT
Game one was a classic pitcher's duel. The Bobcats won 2-1 thanks to a masterful pitching performance by Luciani, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and posted a stellar line: eight innings, one run, two hits (both singles) and eight strikeouts, plus four walks.

A senior, Luciani upped his record to 7-2, tied for the most wins among MAAC pitchers (in all games).

The Gaels broke up Luciani's no-hit bid — and the scoreless deadlock — in the top of the fifth ... with some help from Luciani. The 6-foot-1 right-hander issued a one-out walk followed by a two-out walk. Then he gave up his first hit of the game, a single to left field by freshman Sam Punzi that gave Iona a 1-0 lead. After another walk loaded the bases, Luciani avoided further trouble by getting a groundout to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, QU freshman Ian Ostberg led off with a single to right field. One out later, sophomore Andre Marrero doubled to left-center as Ostberg hustled to third base, prompting the first pitching change for either team. Iona senior starter Joe DeRosa exited the game, but the change didn't help the Gaels.

Iona senior reliever Dan McBryan walked his first batter, junior Brian Moskey, to load the bases — and then walked junior Liam Scafariello, whose swing-less RBI tied the game 1-1. That was it for McBryan, who gave way to senior reliever Schuyler Bates for the second pitching change of the inning (and the game).

The first Quinnipiac batter to face Bates, sophomore Evan Vulgamore, hit a flyout to right field that scored the speedy Marrero from third base for the game-winning RBI.

So after starting the rally with two hits, the Bobcats finished it by driving in their only two runs of the game without the benefit of a hit — on two walks (one game-tying) and a game-winning sacrifice fly.

Quinnipiac had threatened earlier in the contest.

In the bottom of the second inning, senior Ben Gibson hit a one-out single to right-center and senior Julius Saporito singled to left field. With runners at first and second, senior Anthony Cruz stroked a line drive but Iona second baseman Derek Becker snared the screamer and stepped on second base for an unassisted double play to end the threat.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Marrero led off with a double, the first extra-base hit of the game. Moskey then placed a perfect sacrifice bunt to the left side of the infield, forcing Iona third baseman Tyler Bruno to field the bunt and moving Marrero to third with only one out. But the Bobcats couldn't bring him home.

Iona showed a glimmer of offense in the top of the eighth inning, when they led 1-0. The Gaels had a runner at second base after a single and a sacrifice bunt — but Ostberg, the Bobcats' freshman shortstop, made a marvelous play to get the last out of the inning and keep the game 1-0.

It's a baseball adage that a player who makes a great play to end an inning is often the leadoff hitter in his team's next at-bat ... and that's exactly what happened Saturday. Ostberg led off the bottom of the eighth, and his single started Quinnipiac's game-winning rally. When the inning was done, QU was ahead 2-1.

With Luciani's pitch count at 109, Bobcats senior closer Mike Davis entered the contest in the top of the ninth and shut the door for his fourth save. Marrero (3-for-4, two doubles, one run) and Ostberg (2-for-3, one run) paced Quinnipiac's offense. Punzi (2-for-3) had the Gaels' only two hits. In case you're keeping score at home, yes, that means he saved Iona from being no-hit — perhaps obvious, but for the sake of maximum clarity, there you have it.

DeRosa (2-7) took the tough loss for Iona. The 6-foot-6 right-hander left the game in the eighth inning having allowed no runs, but the two runners in scoring position were his responsibility, and his bullpen couldn't get the job done.

While the Bobcats have been above .500 in the MAAC all season, after their win in game one they reached the .500 mark overall (at 20-20) for the first time since they were 8-8 on March 17.

GAME TWO: BOBCATS' BATS GO SILENT
Iona's 3-0 win in game two came with an exclamation point: Gaels sophomore starter Mario Ferraioli threw a seven-inning no-hitter. Remember, in college baseball one game of a doubleheader is typically seven innings.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, with the no-hitter in view, QU sophomore Evan Vulgamore reached on a throwing error by third baseman Tyler Bruno. While the error ruling was slightly delayed, the controversy was minimal — the play appeared to be a clear error, and the no-no was intact. A lefty, Ferraioli (3-0) struck out 10 and walked five.

Bobcats righty starter Brandon Shileikis (5-4) certainly pitched well enough to win. In six innings, the 6-foot-1 graduate student allowed three runs (two earned) and six hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Gaels scored single runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings, and that was the ballgame.

NEXT UP
After the first-place Bobcats host Iona on Sunday at 2 p.m. (pushed back from noon due to overnight rain) for the last game of their three-game MAAC series, they will host Central Connecticut for a nonconference contest on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

DOUBLEHEADER NOTES
• Saturday's doubleheader was graced by plenty of sunshine and blue skies at the QU Baseball Field, nestled adjacent to the rolling hills of Sleeping Giant State Park, with temperatures near 70 degrees. This was a welcome change after a cold spell this spring in Quinnipiac's home state of Connecticut. Daytime temperatures have often been in the 40s and 50s, 10-20 degrees below normal for this time of year. In fact, the early springtime witnessed several April snowstorms — the accumulation on campus was minimal and melted quickly, but still ... snow in April? Here's guessing that most (if not all) QU students are hoping no May snow is on the horizon.

• The Bobcats' victory in game one Saturday was their third straight win via a rally in their last at-bat. In their previous game, Tuesday's 6-5 win versus Hartford, senior Julius Saporito's base hit in the bottom of the 10th inning provided some walk-off magic at the QU Baseball Field. The game before that was Sunday's road loss to MAAC rival Canisius, but in the Bobcats' previous contest they recorded a 3-0 victory over Canisius in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader — yes, thanks to three runs in their last at-bat. Freshman Colton Bender's single provided the game-winning RBI.

• Freshman Ian Ostberg's two-RBI single supplied the insurance runs in that 3-0 victory over Canisius — not that right-handed starter Brandon Shileikis needed them. A 6-foot-1 graduate student, Shileikis notched an impressive seven-inning shutout, striking out seven while allowing only four hits and two walks.

• With Saturday's doubleheader in the books, Quinnipiac has played the first three games of an eight-game home stand, which started with the 6-5 nonconference win against Hartford on Tuesday. The home stand was originally nine straight, but the nonconference home game scheduled against UMass on Wednesday was rained out.