MANSFIELD – Junior Hunter DePrimo and freshman Josh Colon combined for a pitching gem in game one and junior Nate Cotton hit a walk-off single in game two to lead the Mansfield University baseball team to a sweep of Assumption College on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the USA Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The Mounties took game one, 2-1 before winning the nightcap in extra innings, 7-6.

The Mounties (2-1 overall) bounced back in a major way after a heartbreaking 8-7 extra-inning loss to Le Moyne College on Saturday.

In game one, DePrimo (1-0) set the tone by allowing just one run and striking out eight batters in 5 and 2/3 innings before handing the ball over to Colon, who shut the door. The freshman earned his first save in 1 and 1/3 innings, striking out one.

The Mounties took a 1-0 lead in the first after sophomore Brittain Shander led off with a single and later scored off an Assumption mishap. It wasn't until the fourth inning when the Greyhounds (1-2 overall) pushed across a run to knot the score at one.

The Mounties scored what served as the game-winning run in the sixth after junior Ryan Wentzel reached on a throwing error and later scored on another throwing miscue as a result of a hard ground ball by senior Dom Lopez.

Shander was 3-for-4 with a run scored and senior Brady Mengel added a double.

In game two, facing a three-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh the Mounties were down to their final out after sophomore Will Romano led off the inning with a single. Shander extended the inning with another single and senior Josh Kulina and junior Ben Osborne followed with back-to-back doubles to plate three runs and send the game into extras.

After a scoreless eighth and ninth, the Mounties loaded the bases with one out after a hit-by-pitch from Shander and back-to-back walks by senior Glen Addicott and Mengel. Cotton sent a 1-0 pitch into left field to score Shander and seal the victory in walk-off fashion.

Freshman Todd Erney took the mound in the top of the eighth and did not allow a run, battling through an inning and 2/3 to earn the victory.

The Mounties scored the game's first run in the second inning after senior Dom Lopez drove in Cotton with an RBI double.

Assumption entered the bottom of the fifth with a 3-1 lead after two solo home runs, but Mansfield immediately countered with two runs to knot the game at three. Wentzel led off the sixth with a double and later scored on a single by Lopez. Romano pinch ran for Lopez and later scored on a single from Shander.

However, Assumption pushed across three runs in the sixth and seventh to take a 6-3 lead into the Mounties' final at-bat, setting up the dramatic finish.

In a complete staff effort, sophomore Brian Jordan gave the Mounties a quality start, tossing 4 and 1/3 innings with two strikeouts while allowing three earned runs. Juniors Jake Manke and Jordan Cowen, freshmen Donnie Faux and Lorenzo Febbo and sophomore Jake Haas each did their part in keeping the Mounties in the game and allowing the contest to reach extra innings.  

Shander (2-4, 2B, two runs, RBI), Cotton (2-4, run, RBI), Lopez (2-2, 2B, RBI) and Osborne (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) each finished with multiple hits and drove in runs. Kulina finished with an RBI and a double.

The Mounties are back in action next weekend when they head to Glennville, W.V. to compete in the Glennville State Tournament beginning Friday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. against Davis and Elkins College.