After Bard rallies to take lead, New Paltz rallies to win, 4-3

Photo is courtesy of Bard College

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – After literally squeezing out two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 3-2 lead, the Bard College baseball team saw New Paltz rally for two in the top of the ninth, and Bard lost, 4-3.

New Paltz improved to 15-9-2; Bard is 8-16.

The Raptors trailed, 2-1, in the bottom of the eighth, and with one out, JP Fisher got hit with a pitch. Freshman Mike Pizzuto singled to left - with Fisher running on the pitch - and Pizzuto moved up to second when Fisher beat the left fielder's throw to third base. So it was second and third with one out.

Preston Gittelson put down a bunt just to the right of the plate, and the New Paltz pitcher tried to
scoop it with his glove to get Fisher at the plate on the squeeze. But the ball got past the catcher, and pinch-runner Julian Gonzalez came around from second and scored, diving head first just under the tag, to give Bard a 3-2 lead.

But the Hawks loaded the bases with one out against reliever Rami Masani, so Bard went to lefty Adam Carafotes to face lefty Jake Williams (Seaford, NY). Williams hit a roller to short, but the throw from second base on the attempted double play was errant, and two runs scored, giving New Paltz a 4-3 lead.

The Raptors went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Dan Ellis and Frank Ortega combined to hold New Paltz to just three hits and one earned run over the first seven innings. Masani (0-2) took the loss. Pizzuto would have been the hero for Bard, as he went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Anthony Pantano (Farmingdale, NY) went 2-for-3 with four stolen bases and two runs scored for the visitors. Brian LoRusso (Garden City, NY) got the win with one-third of an inning pitched, and Luke Christy (New York City, NY) pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

That was the last non-league game on the 2016 schedule for Bard; all that remain are 16 Liberty League games. They'll play four this weekend with Clarkson - two on Saturday, two on Sunday - at Honey Field. Follow all four games live right here.