After a tough Tampa trip, the baseball team broke out of their slump by pummeling the Mavericks.

Pace ended their three-game losing streak by defeating Mercy College 6-0 on the road. The Setters offense, which scored just four runs in three games in Tampa, broke out the lumber against the Mavericks.

Junior education major James Pjura belted a poor pitch over the fence in left center field in the top of inning number two to give Pace an early 1-0 lead.

Although the home run was Pjura’s only hit of the game, it gave the Setters a necessary lead so they could just play defense and focus on pitching.

Senior communications major Neil Pezzullo bounced back well after getting shell-shocked in Tampa. Pezzullo did not relinquish a run in his eight innings of work and gave up just two hits on the day. The Harwich native also surrendered just two walks while he struck out three batters and improved his overall record to 1-1 on the year.

While Pezzullo and the defense held the Mavericks at bay, Pace’s offense rejoined the party in inning number six.

Senior criminal justice major Joe Solomeno led off the inning with a single to left field and did not have to stand on base for long. Solomeno was knocked in on an RBI double by junior business management major Jon Kovel to give the Setters their second run of the afternoon.

Although Pace was able to score on a wild pitch in the top of inning number seven, it was the top of inning number nine where Pace put an exclamation point on their victory.

The Setters were able to notch three runs in the top half of the game’s final inning thanks to their second home run of the game. Senior accounting major Bobby Horn led off with an infield single and junior finance major Mike Rooney added a single of his own to place runners at the corners.

One swing later for the Setters had all but secured the victory for the visiting team.

Junior business major Chris Gili belted a three-run home run that landed somewhere in the greater Dobbs Ferry area to give Pace a 6-0 lead. The Setters did not score again after Gili’s blast, yet six runs were more than enough for Pace to get their first win of 2013.

While the offense came to bat, the Setters also were able to quell the Maverick’s hitting. Mercy college struck out a total of five times against Pace on the day and Mercy only got one extra base hit in the entire game.

In contrast, the Setters both out-hit the Mavericks 12-3 during the game and also notched six extra base hits on the afternoon.

With the victory the Setters improve to 1-3 overall and have yet to play a game in the Northeast-10. Pace will hit the road again on Mar. 6 to take on Saint Thomas Aquinas with hopes of putting together a winning streak of their own.