March 25, 2023

St. John's and others open at home on Saturday

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Virginia Wesleyan (4-15-1, 3-3-1 ODAC) split their doubled header against conference opponent Bridgewater College, dropping game one 10-8, and taking game two 9-5.
Virginia Wesleyan athletics photo by James Hill
 


Saint John's (Minn.) earned a 12-9 non-conference win over Crown in its home opener on Saturday at Haugen Field at Becker Park. The Johnnies (9-8 overall) built a 10-2 lead thanks to a seven-run sixth inning, but the Polars (6-7 overall) hit a solo home run in the seventh and plated six in the eighth inning to cut the lead to one. SJU extended the lead to three with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and freshman Evan Soeffker struck out two as part of a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save of the season.

With 31 hits slapped around the ballpark on Saturday afternoon, Clarkson completed a doubleheader sweep and series win over Hobart College, downing the Statesmen 12-3 and 7-5 in Liberty League play at Falcon Park. In the opener, Clarkson scored runs in each of the first five innings to build a significant lead early on. Game two was a closer affair, but Clarkson still had its offense rolling with 16 hits in nine innings.

No. 10 LaGrange (17-6, 6-0 CCS) would rally from four down in the opener and take firm control early in the nightcap to pick up 15-7 and 7-1 victories to complete the series sweep over Covenant (7-10, 2-3 CCS) in an NCAA Division III doubleheader on Saturday. Behind 7-3, LaGrange bounced back in the home half of the fifth when Fragoso singled with one out and Bonner pounded a double to left center to score him and cut it to three. It would then go from a three-run deficit to up five as the Panthers exploded for eight runs on 10 hits in the sixth. That game changing inning would feature two-RBI singles by freshman shortstop Jackson McElvy, Fragoso and first baseman Brooks Short and RBI singles from junior catcher David Smigelski and senior outfielder Rhett Mixon to go from down 7-4 to up 12-7. The Panthers would waste no time in continuing that offensive onslaught in the series finale making it it 7-1 through four. Covenant would manage a pair of singles in the ninth but would get no closer as the Panthers closed out the 7-1 victory.

Niko Garcia launched a first inning grand slam Saturday afternoon to lead Texas Lutheran to a 9-7 win over No. 19 Trinity at Katt-Isbel Field. Saturday's win clinched the series for TLU following Friday night's 11-4 win. Garcia was 1-for-4 at the plate Saturday with the grand slam, increasing his RBI total to 22 on the season. Following Saturday's contest, Garcia only trails teammate Tyler Post in the category in the SCAC. He is hitting .444 (4-for-9) in the weekend series with a home run, seven RBI, and two runs scored. Blade Strzelczyk got the start, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings. Zach Longshore earned the win in relief, limiting the Tigers to two hits in 4.2 shutout innings with one walk and three strikeouts.

It all came together for Chapman as the Panthers swept visiting Tufts, 7-0 and 6-3, to clinch the three-game series. Standout pitching was backed by solid defense and timely hitting to take both game of the doubleheader. A gem from Wyatt Thompson was backed by three home runs from the Chapman lineup as the Panthers evened the series with a 7-0 win. Thompson and Brandon Menzel combined for the shutout on the mound while Brad Shimabuku, Josh Phillips and Kai Osaka all went deep. After a bit of back and forth, the Panthers sealed the sweep with a late rally to take the final game of the series 6-3. Max Banks had a quality start with Turner White and Henry Chabot holding the lead with three combined shutout innings.

LeTourneau split a doubleheader with Howard Payne on Saturday and claimed the series victory with a 13-0 win in the finale. It was a tale of two games as LeTourneau (12-12, 6-6 ASC) dropped the first game 17-4, but bounced back to win game two 13-0 in a similar fashion to topple Howard Payne (10-12, 5-7 ASC) and clinch the series. It is the third ASC series won by LeTourneau this season. Aman Patel was dazzling on the mound and the offense scored all 13 runs over a three-inning stretch in a 13-0 victory in the second game. Howard Payne got off to a quick start and kept rolling for seven innings. Brayden Ferrie was two outs short of a complete game and shutout until Jones sent one beyond the fence for a grand slam.

Luther overwhelmed Nebraska Wesleyan with a 32-4 win.
In a game that saw the Norse have 29 hits which is the
most so far in a single game this season. Mark Prince and
Cullen Stamp combined for three home runs to secure
victory. Luther opens the American Rivers Conference
season 3-0 for the first time since 2021. The win is the
largest margin of victory in modern history according to
available records.
Luther athletics photo

In a pair of games shortened by the 10-run mercy rule after seven innings, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport Captains put together an offensive explosion against St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) on Saturday afternoon. The Captains (22-6) scored 23 runs in the twin bill, played following a special pre-game ceremony by the Medina14 Foundation created in the memory of CNU alum Ricky Medina, who lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this year. Christopher Newport blanked the Bears in the first game, 11-0, before adding a 12-2 win in game two. The Captains scored runs in all but three innings including multiple tallies in eight of the Captains' 12 trips to the plate.

No. 5 Shenandoah opened up its weekend ODAC series at Averett with a 7-2 victory Saturday afternoon. Shenandoah (18-2, 5-1 ODAC) used three-spots in the fifth and seventh innings to dispatch the Cougars (3-14-1, 0-6). Jacob Faivre (4-0) pitched the first five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks. He struck out six. Brian Ferreira pitched the final four innings to earn his first save of the season. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out three.

Middlebury downed 21st-ranked Cal Lutheran in doubleheader action to complete its three-game weekend sweep. The Panthers edged the Kingsmen 6-4 in the first game of the day, before shutting out Cal Lutheran 10-0 in the nightcap. In the opener, Middlebury tacked on another tally in the top of the seventh when a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Schroeder sent Gough across the plate for the 6-2 lead. The Kingsmen threatened in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs but the Panthers recorded the final out to secure the triumph. Middlebury carried the momentum into the second game, blanking Cal Lutheran 10-0. Spencer Dessart earned his second win on the mound in game two, striking out a career-high nine batters in six innings of work, while allowing just two hits. John Collins had a big day with a team-best five RBI, four hits and three runs. He also clobbered a pair of homers. Middlebury became the first team to capture a 3-0 series victory against Cal Lutheran since 2021.

Emory bounced back in a big way Saturday afternoon, sweeping both ends of doubleheader action over New York University in Atlanta. The Eagles scored 11 runs over the final four innings in game one to pick up the 11-6 win in the opener before busting out with 15 runs in a mercy rule win in the second game of the afternoon. Emory improves to 13-9 following the sweep and stands at 2-1 in UAA action through the first three games. The Violets fall to 8-7 after the two defeats and 1-2 inside conference action. The two programs will conclude the UAA opening series on Sunday.

Gio Parascondola homered, and Davis Franklin locked in his sixth win of the season when Puget Sound beat George Fox, 8-4, Saturday afternoon. Aided by a wild pitch, the Bruins got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the third inning, but the Logger bats came to life in the fourth. Gabe Huante was in first base with two outs when Gio Parascondola kept the inning alive by drawing a walk, and then William Gross loaded the bases with a single. Sean Murphy put the Loggers on the board by drawing a walk, and Drew Kamihara did the same to tie the game, 2-2. Dylan Joyce reached base on the Bruins' second error of the inning, and the miscue allowed two more runners to score. Puget Sound tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning. Nathan Blocher drew a leadoff walk, and Hurante hit a single. Two batters later, Parascondola belted his second home run of the season.

Junior Matt Myers reached base 12 times in 14 plate appearances, including eight times in the opener, as the 13th-ranked Randolph-Macon swept an ODAC doubleheader, 29-17 and 11-3 at Guilford on Saturday afternoon. In the game one win, RMC set a record for combined runs in a game at 46. The previous record was 45, set on April 4, 2004, against Lynchburg. he Yellow Jackets had season highs with 29 runs, 19 hits, 14 walks and 23 RBI. RMC took control in the first inning of the nightcap. Matt Myers capped the rally with a two-run double to make it 7-0. Harvey had a solo homer in the third, while Iannuzzi and Webb added RBI doubles later in the frame as RMC took a 10-0 advantage. Junior Drew Ramos pitched eight innings with six hits, three runs, two walks and seven strikeouts to raise his record to 3-0.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field, Brevard (15-6, 5-0 USA South) defeated Pfeiffer (3-11, 0-5 USAS) in a pair of USA South Conference contests by final scores of 8-2 and 1-0 in BC's first home conference games of the season. BC pulled away late in game number one and used stellar pitching performances in the second game to take both games of the afternoon twin-bill. Seven different Tornados racked up multi-hit performances in game one as BC totaled 16 hits and scored eight runs, including six in the last three innings to pull away from a 2-2 tie game. The second game of the twin billing turned quickly into a pitching clinic, as both starters impressed for their respective teams. Connor Crosby (5-0) earned his fifth win of his freshman season in his sixth start, shutting out the Falcons over the course of seven innings allowing just six hits and striking out five batters. Bryce Bowers earned his third save of the season and the seventh of his career, setting a new NCAA-era record for program career saves. Bowers, a native of Madisonville, Tennessee, shut the door with two innings of work striking out two batters.

Ranked 18th, Methodist squared up with Greensboro, on Saturday afternoon, in a USA South Athletic Conference clash. A strong pitching performance by William St. Leger led to the Monarchs getting a 5-1 win over the Pride at Armstrong-Shelley Field. In the bottom of the first inning, Methodist recorded the first run of the ballgame off a Rob Wilkerson sacrifice fly to bring in Jackson Deal from third. Gavin Wheeler registered his team-leading 20th RBI of the season after getting hit by the pitch with bases loaded, to make it 4-0 in the seventh. The next batter was Hunter Hollman and he sent a ball far enough for Methodist to get another run on a sac fly, third of the game for the Monarchs. The lone Greensboro run, 5-1, came in the eighth as pinch hitter Louis Berini connected with an RBI single to left field.

Marietta College and the University of Mount Union split an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday at Pioneer Park. The Purple Raiders won the first game, 10-9, and the Etta Express rolled to a 14-4 victory in game two. Marietta moves to 13-6 overall and 1-1 in the OAC. Mount Union is 12-5 overall and 1-1 in the OAC. In game one, Mount Union scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 8-8 and then plated two more runs in the ninth to take the lead. In game two, Marietta scored in every offensive inning but two as the Pioneers pounded out 15 base hits in the game.

Wartburg took game one of today's American Rivers Conference doubleheader 3-1 over Loras, but the Duhawks edged Wartburg in the second game 2-1 on Saturday. In game one, Wartburg got on the board in the bottom of the sixth after Caleb Andrews had a leadoff walk and was brought home by a Zach Walton stand up double to tie it at 1-1. Cole Wessling tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly that gave the Knights a 2-1 lead after six innings. The Knights added another run in the seventh after a sacrifice fly from Eliot Jurgensen. In game two, Loras tied the game up in the top of the fifth after an error brought in a run. The Duhawks added another run in the sixth after a fielders choice brought in a run to make the score 2-1 after six innings. Wartburg got its first hit since the third inning in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn't enough to tie it up and Loras held on to win 2-1.

Lewis & Clark outscored host Linfield 10-2 from the 5th inning on, including a six-run 6th inning to earn the 11-5 comeback win in Northwest Conference play Saturday afternoon. Lewis & Clark outhit Linfield 6-5 through the first four innings, but they faced a 3-1 deficit heading into the fifth. Dylan Moore started the scoring frenzy in the sixth inning, driving in sophomore Will Heron with a double down the left-field line that started a rally to make the score 8-3. Junior Brett Pierson earned his third win of the season, pitching five innings with two earned runs, and he struck out three Wildcats. Senior Brayden Nomura earned his first collegiate save with 3.1 innings pitched, giving up 2 hits and a run.

On a cold, raw, wet day that was a nightmare for most pitchers, the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team found clutch pitching after it had fallen into a big early hole. That clutch pitching helped the Scarlet Raptors rally past Ursinus College, 15-10, in the opening game of a doubleheader and continue to a 5-0 sweep in the nightcap in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday. The marathon day, which was delayed 2-1/2 hours from the scheduled 11:30 a.m. start due to rain, helped Rutgers-Camden improve to 10-6. The Scarlet Raptors, who blanked the Bears over the final 15 innings of the doubleheader, have won seven of their last eight games.