Freedom Conference Player of the Year Dan Fiorito blasted three home runs to lead Manhattanville to a come-from-behind 11-5 win over top-seeded Misericordia in the opening game of the Freedom Conference baseball championships, Friday at Memorial Park in Quakertown.

Johnny LoVetere and John Bucci both had four hits as the Valiants overcame a 5-0 deficit to improve to 16-20.

Fiorito and Chris Nardozzi both had three hits for the Valiants.

Gabe Noyalis, Bubba Jasinski and Chris Tuttle all had two hits for Misericordia and Jeff Slanovec drove in two runs.
Joe Palmeri worked 1.1 shutout innings to earn the win in relief of Mike Lyon.

Evan Robaczewski worked 6.2 innings while absorbing the loss.

Misericordia led 5-0 through six innings, before the Valiants scored six in the seventh, including four with two outs.

Lovetere led off the seventh with an infield single in front of the plate and Fiorito got the Valiants on the board with his first homer, a line drive down the left field line.

With two outs, Kevin Brady lined a two-out single to right and Bucci reached an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop. 

After Elias Tsouristakis was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Bobby Guerra fisted a two-run single to short left-center.

Hans Arias lined a single just over a leaping Bubba Jasinski at second base to tie score and LoVetre singled to right for his second hit of the inning to give Manhattanville a 6-5 lead.

The Valiants tacked on three more in the top of the eighth when  Fioriti led off with a line drive homer to dead center and Nick Euvino grounded a two-out, bases loaded single up the middle to make it 9-5.

In the ninth, LoVetere reached on an infield single and Fiorito blasted his third homer of the game to deep left field.
Misericordia took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Gabe Noyalis lined a two-run double to left field.

The Cougars made it 4-0 in the fifth on Jeff Slanovec's two-run double to the left center field gap.

Misericordia closed out it's scoring on Joe Tagliarini's sac fly to center in the sixth.

MU, 32-8, will play the FDU-Florham/DeSales loser in an elimination game, Saturday at 11:00.  Manhattanville will play the FDU-Florham/DeSales winner at 3:00 p.m.