CARY, N.C. – On Friday, the Mansfield University baseball team played in the first two games of their four-day stint in North Carolina, taking on Pace University and Saint Thomas Aquinas at the USA Baseball Complex.
 
The morning started with Pace at 10:30 a.m.  Conditions were chilly as gametime temperatures were a frigid 40 degrees, possibly attributing to 22 strikeouts in the game between the two teams.  Pace struck out 10 Mounties, but Mansfield's senior starter Evan McAndrew went five innings and struck out nine of his own to nearly match their game total. Joseph DePerno threw an inning in relief and freshman Sean Heery finished the game, going two full innings while striking out two batters and allowing just one hit in an impressive debut.
 
Pace (2-0) did all of their damage across the middle innings, combining for five runs in the fifth and sixth frames.  Mansfield mustered just two hits, coming off the bats of Carlos Espinosa and Brady Mengel, but it wasn't enough to cover the five-run spread.
 
Sophomore Thomas Ippolito pitched for the Setters, making his first start of the season.  Ippolito accounted for all 10 of the staff's strikeouts. Lorenzo Russo tossed three more scoreless frames to earn the save.
 
In the second game of the day, it was the Mounties who struck first. Tony Brown plated the first Mountie run with a double down the left field line, bringing Brittain Shander all the way around from first base. Brown then scored after Koty Fitzgerald reached on an infield single. Saint Thomas made an unnecessary throw, resulting in an error which allowed Brown to score and make it a 2-0 ballgame.
 
 
Saint Thomas Aquinas answered to tie the score in the bottom half of the inning.  Four errors in the game proved to be costly for Mansfield as the Spartans struck for eight more runs while shutting down the Mounties for the final seven frames. MU collected six hits in the game, two of which came from Josh Kulina. Glen Addicott entered as a pinch hitter and guided a pitch up the middle for a single. Brady Mengel also collected a hit, driving a 1-1 pitch to centerfield.  
 
Timmy Saar started the contest and took the loss for the Mountaineers.  He struck out four Spartans in four innings on the mound. Bryce Zaparzynski, Tom Heenan, & Brian Jordan threw the final four innings in relief. The two seniors, Zaparzynski & Heenan, both recorded strikeouts.
 
The Mounties have another two games tomorrow, March 9^th, taking on the University of Findlay at 2 p.m. and then the College of Saint Rose at 6:30 p.m.
 
Live stats and video will be available at GoMounties.com