Pioneers Down Vassar to Remain Perfect on the Diamond
WINTER HAVEN, (3-17-14) – The Utica College baseball team continued its impressive surge Monday morning with a 16-2 victory over Upstate New York rival Vassar College at the Russ Matt Tournament in Winter Haven, Florida. Sophomore local product
Adam Pexton (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and senior utility
Alec Choleva (Coventry, CT/East Catholic) led UC as they combined a 7-for-9 outing at the dish with seven runs and seven RBI. Pexton was 4-for-5 with four runs while Choleva added six RBI with a home run and two doubles.
It's been 21 years since the Pioneers, now 3-0 overall, opened up the season with three-straight wins. The 1993 UC squad went 5-0 to open up the season. Vassar evened its overall record at 3-3 with the loss and returns to action Wednesday in Russ Matt Tournament play.
Utica is right back on the diamond Wednesday afternoon as well as it squares off against Fairleigh Dickson – College at Florham. Game one of Wednesday's twin bill is set for 3 p.m. FDU is currently 3-2 on the season and plays Oglethorpe University Tuesday afternoon.
Utica College 16, Vassar 2 – Seven Innings
UC jumped right out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on four hits. Sophomore
Adam Pexton (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) continued his hot bat with a leadoff double to center field and then scored off a double down the left field line by Choleva to take the first lead of the game. The Pioneers would string together two more consecutive RBI hits from the juniors
Ryan Watson (Deerfield, NY/Whitesboro) and
Vincent Burillo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central ) to conclude the first inning scoring.
Senior hurler
Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) allowed two walks in the bottom half of the inning but was able to escape with no runs or hits. Vassar's Denis Shanagher led off with a walk and tried taking second however junior backstop
Thomas Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas ) gunned him down. Jeffers then got a ground out to second and a line out to third to retire the Brewers.
UC did not let up as it came right back in its next at bat with six more runs on six hits. Pexton started off with an RBI single to left field followed by a fielder's choice sac bunt from junior second baseman
Benjamin Hobaica (Clinton, NY/Clinton) to move to a 5-0 edge. Three consecutive hits including two doubles to would account for the next three runs as UC moved to a commanding 9-0 cushion. Choleva had an RBI double followed by an RBI single from Watson and then a two RBI double off the wood of Burillo.
Jeffers allowed one hit in the second inning with no runs giving the hot bats of Utica another chance to put up some. After senior shortstop
Rob Heath (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) was hit by a pitch and Pexton once again got a base knock, Choleva came up with two outs and cracked a bomb over the left center wall for his second of the early season, giving UC a 12-0 advantage.
Vassar got on the board in the bottom of the third as it rallied with two outs to score two runs. Three consecutive Brewers reached base with two outs as they manufactured their only scores of the morning.
The Pioneers scored another run in the fifth and three more in the seventh to lock down their third victory of the young season. All three wins this season have come by 14+ runs.
Jeffers posted his first win of his senior escapade tossing six full frames only just two earned runs on five hits. The senior, two sport athlete walked five and struck out three in the win. Sophomore
William Winsman (Palatine Bridge, NY/Canajoharie) relieved Jeffers and locked up the win for the Pioneers, allowing just one hit in the final frame.
Vincent Burillo (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central ) posted a five RBI day on three hits including two doubles while Hobaica and Watson each chipped in with two hits and two scores. Heath, in the ninth spot, scored four times on just one hit. He was hit by a pitch twice and reached on an error, scoring every time.
UC has scored 53 runs in just three games (19 innings) for an average of 17.6 runs per contest and 2.8 runs per inning. Utica scored just 59 runs total over its first 17 games of 2013.