HAMDEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team closed out Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a doubleheader split against the Unviersity of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Monday at Rochford Field. The Falcons took game one, 12-7, before dropping game two, 10-5.

Eric Galarza (Bridgeport, Conn.) homered in game one for the Falcons and Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.) went 3-for-6. Vance Ward (Norwalk, Conn.) was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Bobby Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Adriel Espada had a run and an RBI.

Tyler Baldwin (Cromwell, Conn.) pitched 4.1 innings of solid relief, earning his first win of the season.

In game two, King Rivera (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Thomas Pilla (New Milford, Conn.) each drove in two runs.

Prior to the game, 10 seniors were honored as part of senior day.

GAME 1

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus 12 | USJ 7

RECORDS: Albertus (9-19, 4-11 GNAC) | USJ (22-15, 9-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons struck first with a run in the bottom of the opening inning as Spataj had an RBI single to score Ward, who walked to lead off the inning.
• USJ took the lead back immediately with three runs in the top of the second, including a two-run single by JJ Fox. In the top of the third, USJ extended its lead to 4-1 as Ryan Quinn hit a solo homer to open the inning. Baldwin came in to pitch with two outs in the third and was able to get out of a jam with runners on first and second.
• Albertus answered with a long ball of its own as Galarza hit a two-run homer after Spataj led off the inning with a single, making it a 4-3 game.
• In the bottom of the fifth, the Falcons took the lead back, scoring two runs as a ball hit by Rivera scored two runs, making it a 5-4 Albertus lead.
• The Falcons got plenty of insurance in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six times as they sent 12 batters to the plate. Arent and Ward singled and doubled, respectively to lead off the inning. A wild pitch would score Ward, making it a 6-4 game. The Falcons then followed with three consecutive RBI doubles as Espada, Galarza and Abate all got in on the action, making it a 9-4 game. Two bases loaded walks plated the final two runs of the inning.
• The Blue Jays scored three more runs to cut the Albertus lead to 11-7 as Fox had another RBI single.
• The Falcons added one more run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Ward.

ON THE HILL

Albertus

Nathan Rivera 2.2 IP | 3 Hits | 4 Runs | 3 ER | 3 BB | 3 K

Tyler Baldwin (W, 1-2) 4.1 IP | 6 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 2 BB | 2 K

Aaron McIntyre 2.0 IP | 1 Hits | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 0 BB | 1 K

USJ

Ethan Slowik 2.0 IP | 2 Hits |  Run | 1 ER | 2 BB | 5 K

Marcus Tarfano (L, 3-1) 3.0 IP \ 3 Hits | 4 Runs | 2 ER | 0 BB | 2 K

Hunter Espinosa 0.1 IP | 4 Hits | 4 Runs | 4 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

Alec Ash 2.2 IP | 2 Hits | 3 Runs | 3 ER | 6 BB | 2 K

AT THE PLATE

Albertus

Eric Galarza 2-for-4 | 1 HR | 3 Runs | 3 RBI

Elijah Spataj 3-for-6 1 Run | 1RBI

Vance Ward 2-for-3 2 | 1 2B | 2 Runs | 2 RBI

Bobby Arent 2-for-3 | 2 BB | 1 Run | 1 RBI

Adriel Espada 1 2B | 1 Run | 1 RBI

USJ

JJ Fox 3-for-4 | 1 2B | 1 Run | 3 RBI

Ryan Kane 1 HR

Jack Kane 2-for-5 | 1 RBI 

GAME 2

THE BASICS

FINAL: USJ 10 | Albertus 5

RECORDS: Albertus (9-20, 4-12 GNAC) | USJ (23-15, 10-6 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Quinn hit his second homer of the day in the top of the first for USJ to stake the Blue Jays to an early 2-0 lead. 
• In the bottom of the fifth, the Falcons erupted for five runs to take a 5-2 lead. Espada and Anthony Abate (Naugatuck, Conn.) each singled. With runners on the corner, the Falcons pulled off a double steal with Espada stealing home to make it a 2-1 game. Later in the inning, a two-run single by Rivera gave the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, Pilla belted a ball to right centerfield for a two-run double, making it a 5-2 Albertus lead.
• USJ tied the game after the top of the third as it scored one run in the second on an RBI double by Fox then followed with two runs in the third, with a run coming on a homer from Dom Scalia.
• The Albertus bats were fairly silent the rest of the way as only four batters reached base from the second inning on.
• The Blue Jays took the lead back with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh on Scalia's second homer of the  game. In the eighth, they'd tack on three more, with two of the runs coming on a fielder's choice.
• Zach Thielen came in relief in the bottom of the eighth for USJ, striking out five.

ON THE HILL

Albertus

Jack Angelo (Eat Haven, Conn.) 3.0 IP | 8 HIts | 5 Runs | 3 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Riley Corgan (New Milford, Conn.) (L, 1-3) 3.0 IP | 2 Hits | 2 Runs | 2 ER | 0 BB | 0 K

Albert Molina (Terryville, Conn.) 1.1 IP | 0 Hits | 1 Run | 0 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Ryan Green (Torrington, Conn.) 1.2 IP | 1 Hit | 1 Run | 0 ER | 0 BB | 3 K

USJ

Tyler Slack 2.1 IP | 4 Hits | 5 Runs | 0 ER | 1 BB | 4 K

Brandon Cahill (W, 4-2) 3.2 IP | 0 Hits | 0 Runs | 0 BB | 5 K

Ozzie Weber 1.0 IP | 0 Hits | 0 Runs | 0 ER | 2 BB | 0 K

Zach Thielen 2.0 IP | 0 Hits | 0 ER | 1 BB | 5K

AT THE PLATE

Albertus

Thomas Pilla 1-for-3 | 1 2B | 2 RBI 

King Rivera 1-for-3 | 1 Run | 2 RBI

USJ

JJ Fox 3-for-3 | 1 2B | 2 Runs | 1 RBI

Dom Scalia 2-for-5 | 2 HR | 2 Runs | 2 RBI

Ryan Quinn 1-for-5 | 1 HR | 1 Run | 3 RBI

NOTEWORTHY

The two teams have split the last two doubleheaders they've played against each other.

With Galarza's homer, the Falcons have 15 home runs on the season, surpassing last season's total.

UP NEXT

The Falcons go on the road on Tuesday to take on Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) at 3:30 p.m.