March 27, 2021

Big comebacks highlight a busy Saturday

More news about: Centenary | Keystone | Ramapo | TCNJ
LeTourneau University beat Hardin-Simmons, 5-2, Saturday to win its third American Southwest Conference series of the season. It was the second straight series victory for the YellowJackets, who bumped their record to 9-11 overall, 7-5 in the ASC.
LeTourneau athletics photo By Jordan Collard

TCNJ fell behind early in both ends of its Saturday doubleheader against Ramapo in non-conference action, but the Lions roared back in game one to defeat the Roadrunners, 10-6, with 10 unanswered runs. Ramapo held off the Lions, 5-1, in game two. Ramapo led, 6-0, after a two-run homer in the first, three more runs in the third, and another in the fifth. To that point, TCNJ had just an infield single from Aydon Chavis to lead off the bottom of the first. That changed in the last half of the game as TCNJ scored 10 straight runs after falling behind by six. The Lions again fell behind, this time 4-0 after a two-run third inning and a two-run homer in the top of the fifth but no comeback was in the cards for TCNJ.

Keystone College swept host Centenary University on Saturday in a CSAC doubleheader, winning the opener 10-7, followed by a 9-7 nightcap victory. The Giants trailed 2-0 after the 1st and 6-3 after the 5th but battled back for the opening victory. In the nightcap, the Giants tallied three runs in the 2nd, four in the 4th, and added two more in the 7th building a 7-0 lead and cruised to a win and a sweep.

Junior first baseman Peter Cosentino homered in each game of the doubleheader and reliever Chris Lum nailed down saves in both ends as Montclair State swept Stockton in non-conference doubleheader at Yogi Berra Stadium on Saturday. The Red Hawks (8-1) won the first game 7-4 before rallying for five runs in the eighth inning of the nightcap in a 10-8 victory. Stockton fell to 2-2.

Kyle Hoppe hit a timely RBI double in the top of the seventh inning of the second game, leading the Augsburg University baseball team to a split in a nonconference doubleheader against Crown College on Saturday morning at U.S. Bank Stadium. Crown won game one 8-0 while Augsburg took the nightcaop 3-2. Pitcher Nick Schroedle picked up his first win of the season with a seven-inning shutout effort in the opener. He struck out nine batters and gave up only one walk. Johnson picked up his first collegiate win, pitching three innings of relief and striking out three batters. Stoik started on the mound for Augsburg in his collegiate pitching debut, throwing two innings, striking out two and giving up no runs.

Farmingdale State hosted Purchase College this afternoon for a Skyline Conference doubleheader and won both games. Farmingdale State junior pitcher Stephen Clancy started and threw five shutout innings in the 7-1 game one win before freshman first baseman Jordan Lambert hit a walkoff sacrifice fly in the tenth inning of game two to lead the Rams to the 8-7 victory. Bobby Pollock finished just a single away from the cycle as he recorded a double, triple and homerun with two RBI's in the nightcap.

Whitworth took the lead early in game one of its first home doubleheader of the season and then fought back in a high-scoring nightcap to sweep visiting Linfield in a pair of Northwest Conference baseball games on Saturday at Merkel Field. The Pirates (4-9 overall, 3-3 NWC) won the opener 3-1 and took a see-saw battle with the Wildcats (2-13, 1-7) 10-7 in the nightcap. Dylan Bishop's strong pitching and Luke Bruno's three runs-batted-in propelled Whitworth to a victory in game one. A grand slam by Jaxen Sweum and Aidan Morrison's go-ahead triple lifted Whitworth over Linfield in the seven-inning nightcap.

Mitchell College split a doubleheader against Trinity College on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at DiBenedetto Stadium. Roland Thivierge tossed a gem in the opener as the Mariners scored eight unanswered runs to win 8-2. Jeremy Sagun went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Steve Cochrane had two hits and drove in three runs. Thivierge scattered five hits over 7.0 innings and struck out six to improve to 3-0. The Bantams bounced back to post a 6-4 win in the nightcap. Sagun and Hunter Yaworski paced the Mariners at the plate with two hits apiece.

Worcester State University started off their 2021 season strong, taking down the Bridgewater State Bears in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Lyons Diamond. The contests marked the first time Worcester State baseball was in action in over a year. The last time the Lancers ran out onto the diamond was March 4, 2020, in a loss to Dean College. A matter of days later, the remainder of the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Worcester State starts off 2-0 on the season with these two wins, while Bridgewater State falls to 1-4. In what ended up being a true pitchers' duel in the opener, Sean Mahan led the way for the Lancers. Senior Chris Elliott came in for the save in the last two innings, allowing only one hit. This capped off a clean-cut 3-0 victory for Worcester State. Kyle Gray ended the day with two strikeouts, allowing only two hits over five innings for the win. Sophomores Ben Smith and Kevin Zarnoch Jr. pitched the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Zarnoch was credited with the save, finishing off a solid 2-1 victory for the Lancers.

USMMA started the 2021 season off on a great note on Saturday, winning both games of a Skyline Conference doubleheader against St. Joseph's-Brooklyn, 8-1 and 12-8, in the first games ever played at the Mariners' new field, The Raymond J. Bartoszek '86 Field at The Dean White '45 WWII Merchant Marine Officer Complex. At the plate, sophomore leadoff hitter Joey Zanetti went 2-for-3 with a game-high three RBIs, knocking in the first run ever at The Ray with a third-inning triple that scored senior Jacob Kelly. Zanetti led the way at the dish with two hits in the nightcap, including another triple, and two RBIs.

Two Christopher Newport starting pitchers put up nearly identical numbers with six shutout innings apiece as the Captains (8-4, 3-0) swept Southern Virginia University (0-6, 0-2) in Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday. CNU won game one, 12-0, behind another dazzling performance by Husby, and picked up an 8-2 win in game two as Weber followed suit. Setting the tone early, senior Josh Husby (2-0) continued his strong start to the season with his fourth consecutive quality start. He headlined a pitching staff that would face only 30 batters in the game, just three more than the minimum. In six shutout frames, Husby struck out eight, walked one, and allowed just two weakly hit singles. In game two, Dylan Weber (3-1) matched Husby's effort stride for stride with nearly the exact same line including six shutout innings, nine strikeouts, one walk and two hits allowed.

Case Western Reserve University dealt Wittenberg University its first loss of the campaign, splitting a doubleheader with the Tigers in Springfield, Ohio on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans picked up the win in game one, defeating Wittenberg 9-5, while suffering a 19-6 loss in the second game. The Spartans stand at 4-4 on the season after the split, while Wittenberg moved to 9-1 on the campaign. Case Western Reserve smashed three home runs over the two games, and totaled 29 hits over the contests. Wittenberg hit seven round-trippers with Jack Hollinshead getting three in the nightcap.

Endicott opened up CCC play on Saturday with a pair of wins against Wentworth, 4-3 & 8-2, at North Field. Michael Kozlowski earned the game one victory (1-0) out of the pen for the Gulls via 3 1/3 innings pitched, one hit, no runs, zero walks, and a career-high five punchouts. Cooper Anibal pitched strong in his first start of the season going seven innings, while only allowing six hits, two runs (both earned), and one walk alongside six strikeouts. Endicott is 42-9 all-time against Wentworth and has won 15 straight versus the Leopards dating back to 5/2/2014.

Neumann University opened Atlantic East Conference action with a sweep of Wesley College on Saturday afternoon. The Knights won both contests by a 7-6 score. In the first game, Ryan Lopez went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored. Will Hart started the game and went 6.2 innings. He allowed six runs on six hits and struck out four. Tyler Szilagyi picked up the win, getting the final out in the top of the seventh. Andrew Curran started the second game for the Knights and went 5.2 innings for the no decision. He allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits and struck out six. Brennan Hatala got the win, going 1.1 innings in relief. He allowed two runs on two hits. Pat Leighton got the save, pitching scoreless eighth and nine innings.

Backed by yet another weekend of sterling starting pitching, Franklin & Marshall swept both games of a doubleheader against Ursinus in Centennial Conference action on Saturday afternoon. With the pair of victories, the Diplomats improved to 4-0, 4-0 CC, while the Bears dropped to 0-2, 0-2 CC. Starting pitcher Matt Devlin (2-0) put in another quality start to open the season, giving up a single run in six innings of work. Devlin punched out eight Bears in the effort, making it 17 strikeouts in 14 innings to open the 2021 season for the senior lefty. Kyle Roche (2-0) turned in another solid outing, allowing only three hits and one run, while punching out five in six innings of work. After giving up the leadoff homer, the junior retired the next 17 Ursinus batters through the sixth inning.

Belhaven University capped off a series win over the Sul Ross State University Lobos on Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference play. With the win the Blazers improve to 15-6 overall and 10-2 in conference play. Beau Louviere got the start and win on the mound for the Green and Gold as he threw 8.2 inning and struck out three batters. Hunter White, Kyle McLaughlin, Nathan Herron, and Reed Bolton had multiple hits for the Blazers in the contest. As a team, the Green and Gold finished the game with11 runs on 12 hits and no errors.

Mount St. Vincent was back in action today for a doubleheader against the Knights of Mount Saint Mary's College on Saturday. The Dolphins split today's series, dropping the first game 10-3, but fought back to defeat the Knights 6-4 in game two. In game one against the Knights, the Dolphins started hot and took an early 3-0 lead over MSMC. But the Knights wouldn't go away as they would hold the Dolphins to just three runs for the game and would go on to score 10 runs over the next five innings, resulting in the Dolphins struggling to rally back. The Dolphins turned it around for the second game of their doubleheader as they would again get out to an early lead over the Knights.

Grove City College moved to 4-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference by splitting a home doubleheader Saturday afternoon with Saint Vincent at Jack Behringer Field. Grove City won the opener, 5-2, while Saint Vincent pulled out a 3-2 victory in the second game. Junior pitcher Tate Ostrowski fired a complete game for the Wolverines in Game One, earning his second win of the year. Ostrowski struck out nine men and allowed one earned run in seven innings. Ostrowski held Saint Vincent to four hits. Saint Vincent entered the game with a conference-leading .365 team batting average. In the nightcap, SVC got off to a strong start, taking a 2-0 lead but the Wolverines tied the game in the bottom of the third. As he did to open the game, Jordan Sabol began another Bearcat rally in the top of the eighth, singling to left field. He moved to second after a sacrifice bunt from Matt Evans and would promptly and alertly take third base on a failed pickoff attempt. A groundball from Barberich was then misplayed, allowing Sabol to trot home 90 feet with the go-ahead run. Grove City went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings, as Evans retired all 10 batters he faced, with three strikeouts, to earn his second win of the season.

Hood College's Jordan Patterson outdueled Stevenson's Matt Reich with a three-hit shutout in game one as the Blazers split a Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth doubleheader with the Mustangs. Hood won game one 2-0 but fell 9-6 in game two. Patterson pitched a seven-inning, complete game shutout. He struck out seven and walked one in game one. Game two looked like another pitcher's duel before the offenses got on the board in the fourth. Stevenson used a six-run sixth where the Mustangs' first four batters all reached base in the inning, including a two-run single by Will Mesa for the game winning hit. Hood rallied with two in the bottom of the inning but could not close out a win.

Johnson & Wales split their Great Northeast Athletic
Conference doubleheader with Anna Maria on Saturday
afternoon. The Wildcats lost 6-5 in game one before
using a pair of home runs in game two to earn the
13-6 victory.
Johnson and Wales athletics photo

Freshman Luke Sokolski had a pair of hits and drove in two run during a six-run fourth inning to lead Plymouth State University to a split with Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference double header at Eastern Baseball Stadium on Saturday. After the Warriors took the opener by an 8-4 margin, PSU rebounded to earn the split with a 7-3 win in game two. Sophomore starter Ryan Hurlbert helped quiet an ECSU offense that had scored 49 runs over the team’s previous four games, pitching into the sixth inning and allowing just two runs.

SUNY Old Westbury won the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) Golden Eagles in a 6-3 extra inning thriller before dropping the second matchup by a score of 7-2 on Saturday. In the bottom of the seventh inning of the opener, the Golden Eagles capitalized on an error by Vinny Trovato to send the game into extras. After a scoreless eighth, the Panthers broke the game open in the ninth as Mike Manetta smacked a two-run triple to right field off of Golden Eagle reliever Anthony Cinquemani. Manetta capped off the victory by scoring on a balk to settle the 6-3 final. Old Westbury would rally but it would ultimately come up short as the Bears would hold on for the 7-2 victory.

Nichols split a Saturday afternoon doubleheader with Roger Williams in CCC action at the Nichols Baseball Field, winning 9-1 but dropping the nightcap 12-11. Graduate student Kyle Bouchard freshman Brennan Hyde each went yard for the Bison while graduate students Jack Arend and Christian Naccari, along with senior Nathaniel Cormier and freshman Johnny Knox, all drove in runs in a seven-run third. That was more than enough run support for graduate student Jack Dicenso, who fanned 10 over six innings of work to earn his second win of the season. Cormier and Hyde each finished the contest with three RBI and graduate student Jack Arend had two hits and knocked in a pair as the teams combined for 24 hits and nine errors. Cormier collected two of his three RBI on a triple in the third while Hyde laced a two-run double in the sixth. Bouchard, meanwhile, had two hits – including an RBI single in the sixth – while junior DJ Caron doubled home a run and also scored twice.

Excellent pitching led the way for Elmira College on Saturday, helping the Soaring Eagles rebound from a pair of losses against SUNY Canton with a sweep of the 'Roos at historic Dunn Field. Senior ace Taber Carter twirled a complete-game shutout in the opening contest, an 8-0 victory for the Soaring Eagles (2-8). In the nightcap, Ray Mineo, Jack Finnerty, and David Kruis limited Canton (2-4) to two hits in a 4-2 triumph. Elmira's wins vs. Canton are the team's first of the 2021 season. The win in the first game is EC's first shutout since May 5, 2018, when the Soaring Eagles blanked Medaille College, 8-0.

Augustana scored two runs in the top of the ninth Saturday to win the opener of a doubleheader with North Park 5-4, then exploded for 14 unanswered runs on its way to a 17-9 win in the nightcap at the Holmgren Complex. Augustana trailed 4-3 going to the ninth in the opener. Jaden Dellitt singled to right center leading off and moved to second on a Zachary Vrbancic sacrifice. Jacob Barker followed with a double down the left field line, scoring pinch-runner Michael Gattuso with the tying run. Alex Simon then reached on an error, with Barker coming home with the go-ahead run.

Some stellar starting pitching from Kyle Kingsbury and Tanner Rock helped lift Lebanon Valley to a doubleheader sweep over Messiah in MAC Commonwealth action on Saturday afternoon. LVC improves to 8-4, 7-1 MACC with the two wins while Messiah falls to 2-8-1, 1-8-1 MACC. In the opener, Kingsbury had it working on the mound as he picked up his third win of the season with five strong innings allowing just three hits, one unearned run, and striking out five. Rock picked up his second win of the year in style tossing six shutout frames of one-hit ball while striking out seven Falcon hitters.