Auburndale, Fla. - March 13, 2017 - The Springfield College baseball program picked up its first win of the 2017 campaign on Monday morning as part of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 5-2 victory over Olivet.
Now in his 21st season in the dugout for Springfield and 25th season overall as a intercollegiate baseball coach, head coach Mark Simeone reached the 400-win milestone with the victory.
Kyle Naples (Berlin, Conn.) led Springfield with a strong showing on the mound, going 5.2 innings and allowing two earned runs off six hits while striking out five and walking two. Ken Manero (Hudson, Mass.) was credited with the save as struck out four and gave up just one hit in 3.1 innings of work.
Springfield wasted little time scoring the game's first run, putting together a two-out rally in the top of the first. After Mark Joao (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.) reached on an error and a Brandon Drabinski (Lisbon, Conn.) singled, Mike Jamieson (New Fairfield, Conn.) ripped a run-scoring single into right field.
The Pride tacked on two more runs in the fourth as it produced four hits in the frame. A triple from Kyle Allen (Westerly, R.I.) and walk by Logan Barrett (Petersham, Mass.) put runners on the corners for Alex Denoyelle (Woonsocket, R.I.), who put a single into left Springfield's second run of the day. Matt Fraioli (Stamford, Conn.) followed with a single of his own to load the bases, which Colin King (Berlin, Conn.) took advantage of, with a run-scoring base hit to left.
In the fifth, Springfield earned three walks to the first four batters before Denoyelle drilled a sacrifice fly to left field, which scored Jamieson to make it a 4-0 contest. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Olivet connected on four-consecutive singles to scratch out a pair of runs and chase Naples from the game. With the bases loaded, Manero entered the game for Springfield and induced a fly ball to right field to get out of the jam.
Springfield tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, when Joao capitalized on King's leadoff single and roped a single to left to give Springfield a three-run cushion.
Drabinski, King, and Denoyelle each finished the day with a pair of hits, while Denoyelle drove in a team-best two runs.
The Pride is back in action on Tuesday when it faces William Paterson at 9 am.