Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Third baseman Kieran Dowd had a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning as NYIT recorded a 6-4 win over the Le Moyne College baseball team on Friday night at the Ripken Experience's Polo Grounds.

NYIT is led by first-year head coach Frank Catalanotto, who played in 14 MLB seasons. Tonight's two head coaches met just one time on a major league diamond (May 2, 2002 in Toronto) and Le Moyne head coach Scott Cassidy (then a reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays) got Catalanotto (a member of the Texas Rangers at that point) to ground out to the shortstop in the top of the seventh inning.

NYIT got on the scoreboard first with a run on two hits in the bottom of the third inning. Catcher Matt Malone led off with a single to second base, stole second and then scored on a single to right field by left fielder Joseph Pesce.

The Bears scored three times on three hits and two Le Moyne errors in the fourth inning. Designated hitter Ryan Kuskowski was hit by a pitch to start the frame and moved to second on a one-out single to second by right fielder John LaRocca. After a groundout moved the runners up a base, Malone singled to center to drive in Kuskowski, while LaRocca scored on a fielding error by the center fielder. Pesce then struck out swinging, but reached base on a wild pitch, which allowed Malone to race over to third base. Center fielder EJ Cumbo then singled to center to knock in Malone.

Le Moyne cut its deficit in half on two hits in the fifth inning. Senior designated hitter Nick Place (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) walked with two outs, moved to second on a single to center by freshman shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and took third on a wild pitch. After junior third baseman Nicholas Jacques (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) walked to load the bases, junior center fielder Justin Tuey (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) doubled to right field to drive in Place and Nevins.

The Dolphins scored twice in the sixth inning on three hits to tie the score at four. Redshirt sophomore second baseman Brian O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) singled to open the frame, moved to second on a walk by senior left fielder David DiNorcia (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day) and then took third on a passed ball. Senior catcher Camillo Spinoso (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/George Washington) followed with a single to the shortstop to knock in O'Mara. Following a pitching change and a hit batsman to load the bases again, Place singled to left field to drive in DiNorcia with the tying run.

After the Dolphins loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh and failed to score, the Bears regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. First baseman Jake Lebel singled down the left field line with two outs and advanced to third on a single to center by Kuskowski. Dowd then singled to left field to plate Lebel. LaRocca followed with a doubled down the right field line to knock in pinch-runner Nic Lombardi.

Le Moyne got a runner into scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings, but could not cut into its deficit.

Redshirt senior righty Max Tessitore (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) took the loss out of the bullpen after allowing two runs and five hits over two innings, while striking out two. Tuey led the Dolphins at the plate with two doubles. Joseph Murphy earned the victory out of the bullpen by tossing four scoreless innings, while striking out six.
 
Le Moyne (1-2) plays a pair of games on Saturday at the Ripken Experience. The Dolphins take on Dominican College at the complex's Crosley Field at 10:30 a.m. and then face the University of Bridgeport at the Polo Grounds at 2:00 p.m.