Felician Athletics - 3/15/08 BASEBALL - Felician Splits On First Day In Florida

CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- The Felician College baseball team used a come-from-behind 12-8 Game 2 victory to salvage a split of its non-conference doubleheader with the University of Minnesota-Duluth during the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Saturday evening at the Cape Coral Sports Complex. UMD, ranked No. 9 in the most recent Division II Central Regional writers poll, earned a 6-5 victory in Game 1.

In the nightcap, Felician (4-6) scored six times in the top of the fifth inning to erase a 6-3 deficit. Mike Libretta (Staten Island, NY), Joey Algieri (New Milford, NJ), and Hector Bello (Miami, FL) had RBI singles to tie the game, before Vinnie DiBenedetti (Forked River, NJ) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Mickey Zudonyi (Holmdel, NJ) followed with a sacrifice fly before the inning's final run scored on a fielding error.

Sophomore left-hander John Calise (Staten Island, NY) (1-0) picked up the pitching victory with two innings of scoreless relief, and freshman Joe Brescia (Holmdel, NJ) struck out four batters in two innings for his first career save. Libretta went 3 for 4 for the Golden Falcons. UMD's Josh Threlkeld (Burnsville, MN) was 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI, and teammate Tyler Erickson (Alexandria, MN) hit a three-run homerun.

Felician fell behind, 6-0, after 2 1/2 innings of Game 1. The Bulldogs' Mike Brunette (West Depere, WI) hit a two-run homer and Tony Doherty (Prior Lake, MN) a three-run shot in the top of the second inning. The Golden Falcons came back with four in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a three-run homer from Marcos Torres (Miami, FL). The score held until the seventh, when Chris Flynn's (Keyport, NJ/Keyport) bases loaded single drove in a run, but DiBenedetti was cut down at the plate by Doherty from center field trying to tie the game. Following a intentional walk to Torres, UMD's John Leitch (New Hope, MN) induced a groundout to complete a save. Flynn was 3 for 4 in the game.

Cole Hytjan (Eden Prairie, MN) allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings for the victory. Hytjan struck out eight and walked none. Nick Riker (Highlands, NJ) (0-2) struck out nine and walked none in a complete game for Felician.

Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box