Worchester, Mass. - The Great Danes fell to St. John's, 10-3, in the first game of the day before falling to Holy Cross, 6-5, at Fitton Field on Saturday afternoon.
In the first game of the day against St. John's, the Great Danes took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. After a lead-off walk issued to Nolan Gaige, Pete DiResta drove a triple into centerfield for the first run of the game. Josy Espinal later recorded a sacrifice fly to score DiResta. St. John's responded with four runs in the top of the second to take a 4-2 advantage. The Red Storm loaded the bases and Joe Witkowski smacked a double down the right field line to score Jeremy Baltz and Paul Karmas. Sean O'Hare came home on a ground out, while a double later in the frame by Matt Wessinger scored Witkowski.
UAlbany pulled back within one run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Gaige. However, St. John's tacked on three runs in the seventh and an additional three in the top of the ninth to seal up the win. In the seventh, the Red Storm scored two runs on a wild pitch and another on a passed ball. Wessinger recorded a home run to start off the ninth, while Talbut came home on an error. Karmas recorded an RBI single for the final St. John's run.
Zach Kraham took the loss on the mound for the Great Danes, fanning five over six and a third innings. Kyle Hansen claimed the win for the Red Storm after six innings of work with nine strikeouts. Stephen Rivera came in for the final three innings to earn the save.
In the second game of the day, Jack Laureneau tallied the gamewinner in the bottom of the ninth, going 2-for-3 at the plate for the game to lead Holy Cross to its fifth straight win.
UAlbany notched the first run of the game, scoring in a double play run-down to go ahead 1-0 early. Holy Cross came back to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third without getting a hit, scoring on a walk and wild pitch. Laurendeau and Eric Oxford tallied the runs. The Great Danes tied the score 2-2 in the top of the fifth, scoring on an error by the Crusader second baseman.
Holy Cross took back a 3-2 edge in the bottom of the fifth as senior Nick Ciardiello doubled to bring around Laurendeau who led off with a single. UAlbany scored three times in the top of the sixth to take a 5-3 lead, tagging reliever Chris Kono for two hits, one which scored, and also capitalizing on another Crusader error for the two other runs. Mike Ahmed hit a homer to bring the Crusaders back within one run, 5-4, in the bottom half of the sixth. Ciardiello then tied the game, 5-5, in the bottom of the seventh, knocking in Oxford on a single and collecting his second RBI of the day.
John Colella and Andrew Boyce retired five of the last eight batters they faced, striking out three to prevent the Great Danes from scoring again. With the score still at 5-5, Maldonado led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and then advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. Laurendeau then hit a ball down the left field line to score Maldonado for the game-winning run, giving Holy Cross the final 6-5 victory.
UAlbany (4-11) will host Marist in the home opener on Tuesday on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in a non-conference doubleheader.
