April 1, 1999
Fairfield, Conn. - Iona College collected 23 hits on the day as the Gaels swept a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader from Fairfield University this afternoon at Alumni Diamond. The Gaels took the first game 4-3 and the nightcap 11-4. Fairfield falls to 8-12 overall and 2-4 in the MAAC. Iona improves to 9-10 overall and 5-1 in league play.
In the first game, Iona pulled out to a 4-0 lead after five innings. Gael starter John Barone (3-1, Walden, NY) no-hit the Stags until there were two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Fairfield short stop Cristian Jung (Brewster, NY) reached on an error and after right fielder Tom Lopusznick (Leonardo, NJ) walked, first baseman Ryan Bittner (Emerson, NJ) broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single to right field, driving in Jung. Fairfield battled back again in the seventh inning, cutting the lead to 4-3. With no outs and bases loaded, Barone struck out Jung and Lopusznick before ending the rally by inducing a ground out by Bittner.
Iona got on the scoreboard first in the second game on an RBI single by Franco Miele (Carmel, NY) in the bottom of the first. The Stags answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning on a solo home run by Tom Lopusznick. Iona got four more runs in the third inning, including three on a line drive home run by Will Pikolycky (Woodbine, NJ). The Stags got three in their half of the third to trim the score to 5-4, but Iona collected a single run in the fourth, two in the fifth and three more in the sixth to put the game away.
Pikolycky finished 4-for-8 on the day for the Gaels with four RBI and three runs scored. Miele went 4-for-7 in the two games. Tom Lopusznick was a bright spot for the Stags going 3-for-4 in the second game with two doubles to go along with his round-tripper.
