Springfield, Mass. – Redshirt senior first baseman Andrew Taft (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton/Buffalo) went 4-for-5 to lead the Le Moyne College baseball team to a 7-3 win over American International College in Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division action on Sunday morning at Bedard Field.

American International got the game's scoring started with a run in the second inning. Right fielder Reed Phillips reached second on a throwing error by the third baseman to open the frame. After taking third on a single, Phillips scored on a double play.

Le Moyne evened the score at one apiece in the fourth, starting a streak of scoring in six straight innings. Senior catcher Camillo Spinoso (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/George Washington) reached on a passed ball on strike three to start the inning. Two batters later, senior designated hitter Nick Place (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) was hit by a pitch. After a groundout, junior third baseman Nicholas Jacques (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) singled to left field to knock in Spinoso.

The Dolphins took the lead with two runs in the fifth. Freshman second baseman Drew Carroll (Clifton Park, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy (Albany)) led off with a single to left and then stole second. After taking third on a wild pitch, Carroll scored on a one-out single up the middle by freshman shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham). Following an out and a steal of second base by Nevins, Taft singled to left field to plate Nevins.

The Yellow Jackets got one run back in the bottom of the frame. First baseman Matthew Elliott walked to open the inning, moved to second on a single by catcher Eugene Quirk and took third on a bunt single by shortstop Cam Defeo. Elliott then scored on a sacrifice fly to the second baseman.

Le Moyne pushed its lead back to two with a run in the sixth. Sophomore right fielder Michael Smith (Montebello, N.Y./Suffern) was hit by the first pitch of the inning and then advanced to second on a single by Jacques. After moving to third on a wild pitch with one out, Smith scored on a passed ball.

The Dolphins added another run in the seventh. Spinoso led off with a single to left center to force a pitching change. Taft then singled up the middle to move Spinoso to third. Place then lifted a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Spinoso.

American International got back within two with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Pinch-hitter Brandon Gaul led off with a single up the middle. Following a pair of strikeouts, center fielder Josh Aviles reached on a fielding error by the shortstop to keep the inning going. Left fielder Matt Krause then singled to right center to drive in Gaul.

Le Moyne scored once in the eighth to take its three-run lead back. Junior center fielder Justin Tuey (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Carroll and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by senior left fielder David DiNorcia (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day).

Taft finished off the game's scoring in the ninth on a one-out solo home run to left field, his East Region-best 13th of the season. He is just the third player in the program's history to hit at least 13 home runs in back-to-back seasons, while he has the most home runs in a two-year span (30). He is also just the third player in the program's history to hit 30 home runs as a Dolphin.

Sophomore southpaw Joe Vail (Cromwell, Conn./Xavier) earned his second win of the week after striking out 10 batters (for the second straight start) over six and two-thirds innings, while yielding three runs (one earned). Freshman Ryan DuBord (Old Saybrook, Conn./Old Saybrook) earned his first career save after retiring all seven batters he faced. Nick Kennedy took the loss for the Yellow Jackets after allowing five runs (three earned) over six-plus innings, while striking out seven.

Le Moyne (21-20, 12-9 NE10, 9-6 SW) completes its non-conference schedule on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Bloomsburg University at Dick Rockwell Field at 1:00 p.m.