ALBANY, N.Y. (Interstat) — Jaxon Mueller’s second-inning grand slam erased an early deficit and a quartet of Albany pitchers made the lead stand, lifting the Great Danes to a 4-3 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen in non-conference baseball Tuesday evening at Varsity Field.

The win improved Albany to 4-14 on the season, while Massachusetts fell to 5-11.

The game’s decisive sequence came in the bottom of the second. Trailing 1-0 after Massachusetts scratched across a run in the top half on an RBI groundout by Kolben, the Great Danes offense erupted against Minutemen starter Levine. Levi McAllister and Kyle Stephens led off with back-to-back singles, and Patrick DeSarno followed with another single to load the bases with no outs.

Muellan, the cleanup-hitting first baseman, then drove a 2-2 offering deep over the fence in right-center field for a grand slam, instantly transforming a one-run deficit into a 4-1 Albany advantage. The four-run blast accounted for all of Albany’s scoring and six of its total hits in the game.

From there, the contest became a pitcher’s duel defined by stranded runners. Massachusetts starter Mark Gajowski settled after the grand slam, finishing with four innings pitched, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out four. He was relieved by Brian Cadieux, who delivered the standout performance on the mound for Albany.

Cadieux, entering after Gajowski, fired four shutout innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed four hits, struck out four and walked none, effectively silencing the Massachusetts lineup through the middle innings. His outing marked a sharp rebound from recent appearances where he had allowed three earned runs in two innings against Army on March 18.

The Minutemen chipped away with a run in the third on an RBI single by Fox, making it 4-2, but could not solve Cadieux. They threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with one out on a walk and two singles, but Cadieux induced a lineout and a strikeout to end the inning unscathed.

Massachusetts mounted a final rally in the ninth against Albany closer Jameson Walsh. After a leadoff single by Willi was erased on a line-drive double play, Gobeil launched a solo home run to right field, pulling the Minutemen within a run at 4-3. Tirado was then hit by a pitch, bringing the potential tying run on base, but he was caught stealing on a pitchout for the game’s final out, sealing the Albany victory.

DeSarno added a triple for Albany, finishing 2 for 2 with a walk. For Massachusetts, McCarthy had two hits and scored a run, while Gobeil went 3 for 4 with a double, a homer and an RBI.

The result defied a narrow pregame projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 2-1 Albany victory and gave the Great Danes a 56% probability to win.

Albany opens a three-game series against Maryland-Baltimore County at home on Friday. Massachusetts travels to face Western Michigan for a three-game set beginning Friday.