WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Vincent Civitella (2-0) threw a 10 strikeout, two hit, one run beauty to lead Pace to a 7-6 non-conference, neutral site win over Northeast-10 Conference foe Bentley.

Pace is off to a 9-1 start to the season, tied for the best 10-game start in program history (2019). Bentley falls to 5-3.

The Setters have never started a season 10-1 since joining the NE10 in 2005 and will look to achieve the feat tomorrow afternoon in the series-finale.

The final score is not indicative of how the game proceeded as the Setters utterly dominated the Falcons through seven innings of action, with a 7-1 edge heading into the eighth.

After Civitella took a seat, the Falcons mustered a five run eighth inning, but Dan Brown recorded the save and put the game to bed in the top of the ninth in one inning’s worth of work.

In undoubtedly the best start of the sophomore’s young career, Civitella was outstanding, despite a late homer.

The lefty was hitless through five innings against Bentley, and in 16 2/3 innings on the mound this season,  has allowed only seven hits and three earned runs with a stellar 24 strikeouts.

The Pace bats were led by graduate student Luke Jacobi’s three and junior Anthony Labita’s pair of hits. Both players also registered one RBI. Transfer sophomore Hunter Goldstein batted in a team-high two runs, and grad student Mitch McCabe led the team with two runs scored.

Thus far, the Blue & Gold rotation has held reigning NE10 Player of the Week Liam Sears to just one hit in seven at-bats over two games.

Pace and Bentley wrap up their Florida series tomorrow at 2 p.m.