ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose pounded out 10 hits to take the opener 4-1, but a late inning rally from a 3-0 deficit fell short and thus visiting Northeast-10 Conference rival Pace University was able to take the nightcap 4-3 today at Bleecker Stadium. In the process, the Setters (9-13-1/4-4 NE-10) avoided a three-game sweep after the Golden Knights won 3-2 in 12 innings yesterday in Pleasantville.

Saint Rose (7-12/3-3 NE-10) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of the first game behind an RBI double from junior designated hitter Jake Perez that preceded a run scoring single by sophomore right fielder Garret Keenan. Pace cut its deficit in half in the seventh, but the Golden Knights went up 3-1 in the bottom half of the frame when freshman second baseman Michael Carbone singled and eventually scored from third on a wild pitch. In the eighth, junior catcher Derek Marshall stroked an RBI base hit to right.

Senior right-hander Nick DeMidio allowed only an unearned run on five hits in 7.0 innings of work to collect his first victory of the year. Senior first baseman Paul Partridge and sophomore third baseman Grant Smith had two hits apiece to lead the Golden Knights attack.

Meanwhile, senior third baseman Denis AlimontI went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Setters.

In the finale, Saint Rose took advantage of two Pace errors in the seventh to cut its 3-0 deficit to 3-2. Pace went up 4-2 in the eighth, but the Golden Knights generated some noise in the ninth. Junior left fielder Ryan Price was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He then scored from first on a double to the gap in right-center off the bat of sophomore center fielder Angel Nunez. However, Nunez was doubled up when he strayed too far from the bag after Partridge lined out to left field one batter later. Saint Rose got another runner on via the inning's second hit-batsmen, but Pace got out of the jam without further damage to avoid the series sweep.

Senior right-hander Jeremiah St. Louis surrendered two earned runs on four hits and fanned seven in 6.1 innings of work for Saint Rose. However, Pace sophomore right-hander Mike Sciarretta was dialed in for most of the afternoon. Sciarretta allowed just one earned run on three hits to go with six strikeouts throughout 8.0 innings. After surrendering a leadoff base hit to Carbone, Sciarretta retired the next 18 Saint Rose batters in order.

Both teams have road games on tap for Tuesday. The Golden Knights will visit defending league champion Franklin Pierce at 3:30 pm in Rindge, NH. Meanwhile, Pace has a 3:30 pm date at conference rival Southern Connecticut State in New Haven.

Box Score - Game 1; Box Score - Game 2