AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Senior Chris Panzarella went 4-for-5 on Sunday but the No. 14 Keystone College baseball team fell to UMass Dartmouth 9-6 in the 2019 opener for the Giants at the RussMatt Invitational.
The Giants begin the year at 0-1 and will face Loras College from Dubuque, Iowa tomorrow at 10 a.m., before squaring off against a Montclair State squad that is receiving votes in national polls at 2 p.m.
The Corsairs improve to 2-3 on the season and play Illinois Wesleyan tomorrow at 5:15 p.m.
Panzarella registered four of the eight hits for Keystone on the day, including a double, while scoring one run. Senior Dakota McFadden blasted a three-run homer down the left field line in the bottom of the first.
Senior Robbie Nardelli finished 1-for-4 with a two-run single to left center in the first while seniors Ronald Medina and Johann Paniagua accounted for a base knock each. Paniagua drew two walks and scored twice.
McFadden earned the opening day start and went 4.2 innings, allowing three earned runs while fanning two and throwing 92 pitches. Senior Wandy Brito suffered the defeat in relief, going 2.1 frames while striking out one.
Sophomore Nathan Hinkley and senior Luke McDonagh both logged one inning each from the bullpen, combining for three punch-outs.
For the Corsairs, Chris Wood, Mike Knell and Jon Candiales all collected three hits as UMass Dartmouth finished with 17 hits on the day.