COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College baseball team rallied back to win the first game against CCNY and dismantled the Beavers in the closing contest to sweep a history-laden doubleheader at Thomas Field.
Junior Dom Fiorentino lit the fire to a strong batting day for the Bears (8-5), who racked up 25 runs on 25 hits. Ursinus took the opener by a count of 8-6 before rolling to a 17-3 blowout in the second.
Fiorentino pounded out four extra-base hits in the two games, eclipsing 100 hits for his career and falling a single shy of completing the cycle for the day. The slugger started his day with his seventh triple of the year to tie Mike Gizzi (2003) for the Ursinus single-season mark just 12 games into the season.
Fiorentino's largest blasts came in the second game, when he crushed two home runs – one to lead off the game and a grand slam as part of a six-RBI effort. He finished the day 4-for-7 with seven RBI and three runs.
Junior Alex Mumme matched the career mark for most doubles in Ursinus history. Mumme hit two doubles to get his total to 44, which ties Chris Jablonksi '16 atop the list. The dominant hitter went 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs and a RBI in the second contest. The home run was Mumme's 15th of his career, which puts him in a tie for third in Ursinus history with Ben Gresh '12.
Sophomore Will Peiffer drilled a game-tying dinger in the opening game, part of a four-run sixth inning that elevated the Bears past CCNY. The southpaw worked all seven innings in the nightcap, scattering six hits, three runs (two earned) and four walks while fanning four. At the plate, the multi-faceted newcomer went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI.
Game 1: Ursinus 8, CCNY 6
Down 5-4 in the sixth inning, the Bears rallied with four runs to overtake the Beavers.
Peiffer tied the game when he smoked his first career homer down the right field line, one hopping his blast to the tennis courts.
Ursinus felt the trickle-down affect after Peiffer's incredible home run. Mumme worked a walk. A hard grounder off the bat of freshman Jon Moldoff couldn't be fielded by the shortstop, and Mumme moved up to third with one out. On a 3-1 count, sophomore Jerry Scavone singled through the right side to score Mumme and give the Bears a 6-5 lead.
A balk moved runners up to second and third before senior Carter Usowski was beaned to load the bases. Junior Mike Stanziale worked a bases loaded walk to force in senior Alex Soriano, and Ursinus tacked on an insurance run courtesy of a sacrifice fly by sophomore Tom Jacobs.
Senior reliever Matt Bull (3-1) held down the lead for the Bears as he pitched great in relief of sophomore starter Nick DeFeo. Bull earned the victory and struck out five batters in 2 1/3 innings, yielding a run on four hits.
CCNY scored a run in the frame but a late-game rally was to no avail. Jacobs gunned down a crucial Beaver base runner at second after a ball in the dirt, and Bull recorded the final out on a strike out looking.
Early on, CCNY plated a run in the opening frame. Fiorentino sent a triple soaring to center field warning track to lead off the game and hustled around the bags for his record-tying triple.
Ursinus sent all nine hitters to the dish in the second, scoring four runs on four hits and three CCNY miscues. Sophomore Tom Jacobs sacrifice bunted Stanlziale over to second, then the ball was thrown away by the third baseman to tie the game 1-1.
Fiorentino snuck his 100th career hit just outside the reach of the diving center fielder for a double to plate Jacobs and give the Bears a 2-1 lead.
A bases loaded two-out bleeder past the pitcher by Scavone scored Fiorentino. Peiffer touched the plate after an attempted pickoff by the catcher went into the outfield to make it 4-1 Bears.
CCNY went ahead with four runs in the fifth frame before the Bears responded in the sixth.
Fiorentino, Peiffer, Scavone, Stanziale and Jacobs all picked up two-hit games.
Game 2: Ursinus 17, CCNY 3
The final game of the double tilt was all Bears from the get go. Ursinus paired 15 hits with a quality start from Peiffer.
The Bears batted around in the first inning, scoring a whopping eight runs on eight hits. Fiorentino crushed a homer off the yellow piping of the center field fence to lead off the game.
Ursinus got the parade going and chased CCNY starter Steven Giglio in the first inning. Freshman Jon Moldoff brought two home on a single to the right side to go up 3-0. Jacobs crushed a double to left center to drive in Moldoff.
Mumme homered to left center to start the bottom of the fourth.
The Bears sent 15 batters to the plate for another eight-run explosion in the sixth. Junior Jake Supran worked a bases loaded walk before Fiorentino scorched a grand slam to right to go up 14-2.
An RBI single by Usowski, a wild pitch run and a based loaded walk gave the Bears three more runs to the board in the frame.
Up Next
Ursinus hosts Penn St.-Harrisburg Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.