Lebanon Valley wins behind pitching gem

Senior Ben Tobio had a busy afternoon with three hits, four runs and three RBI across a pair of games as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team swept a MAC Freedom doubleheader with FDU-Florham Tuesday at Dobbelaar Field. The early cushion was plenty for first-year William Sotiropoulos (pictured), who pitched into the sixth for the first time to earn his first collegiate victory.
Stevens athletics photo by Sid Rochrani
 


Lebanon Valley improved to 11-1 in conference play with a sweep of Messiah on Tuesday afternoon in Grantham. The Dutchmen won the opener 3-1 and then held on for an exciting 10-9 victory in game two. Lebanon Valley (14-10-1, 10-1 MAC Commonwealth) won a pitcher's duel in the opener as Tommy Moore Jr. held the Falcons (11-13-1, 7-7 MAC Commonwealth) off the scoreboard until the seventh inning. In game two, Messiah scored two runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 9-7. Luke Blair gave the Dutchmen an important insurance run in the seventh with a home run to right center. That home runs proved to be the difference in the game as the Falcons rallied and plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Messiah had the bases loaded and no outs against Tony Bennage. The senior shut the door on the comeback attempt with a foul popup to first, a strikeout, and a ground out up the middle to end the game.

Coming into the day with a combined 38 runs over its last three games, No. 13 Denison did not slow down one bit and improved to 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference while also pushing its current winning streak to seven games in a row after winning by scores of 16-4 in seven innings and 14-3 in eight innings at Ohio Wesleyan University on Tuesday at Littick Field. The Big Red broke the opener wide open with a four-run, six-hit top of the fourth inning that featured a two-run double down the left field line by Charlie Glennon. A five-run seventh inning for the Big Red allowed them to again get to the 10-run mark and break the game open as Jake Welsch and Colin Ravin both came up with two-RBI doubles.

Wabash earned its first season sweep of DePauw since 2011 with two home victories Tuesday in North Coast Athletic Conference action. The Little Giants won game one 6-3 over the visiting Tigers before earning a 14-4 victory in seven innings in game two. Camden Scheidt finished the day with six hits, four RBI, and four runs scored. He collected four hits and one walk in the second contest with a double, triple, and two base hits, including a bases-loaded walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh for the ten-run win. AJ Reid and Kamden Earley each had four hits on the day. Reid blasted his eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth. Earley drove in a pair of runs in game one and picked up three hits in the finale. Will Phillips went 3-for-4 with a walk in game two and scored three runs.

Muhlenberg scored 13 runs in its final three at-bats and went on to topple defending Centennial Conference champion Swarthmore, 18-6. The 18 runs were the most scored by the Mules (9-12-1, 2-1) in a CC game since an 18-16 win against Franklin & Marshall in 2017. The Garnet (12-11, 1-2) had not given up as many as 18 runs in a CC game since 2009. Muhlenberg got contributions up and down the lineup, with all nine starters either scoring or driving in a run. Sophomore Brendan Hughes had the biggest day, going 4-for-5 with a career-high 6 RBI. The top two hitters in the lineup, junior Jack Kent and sophomore Aidan Legner, each scored 4 runs, while Kent, senior Christian Schwarz, junior Jonathan Toth and senior Caleb Tereska drove in a pair of runs apiece. Overshadowed by the offensive explosion was the great work by freshman Evan Virno out of the bullpen. Coming into a 5-5 game in the sixth, he allowed a single to the first batter he faced but retired the next nine hitters to complete a scoreless three-inning stint and earn his second win of the season.

WPI scored three runs without a hit in the top of the ninth inning to rally for a 4-1 win over Emerson at the New England Baseball Complex on Tuesday afternoon. With the score knotted at 1-1, WPI capitalized on four walks and a hit by pitch to score three runs before holding off a bottom-of-the-ninth-inning rally by Emerson to seal the win. The Engineers' Jack Gomes threw an eight-inning gem, allowing just four hits with no earned runs and four strikeouts to move to 3-0 on the season. Noah Pins got the save, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

Westminster (Pa.) extended its winning streak to six games with a sweep of Pitt-Bradford Tuesday afternoon. The Titans scored a 6-2 win in game one before cruising to a 10-5 victory in game two. Trailing 2-0 after Maxwell Rogers' two-run home run in the top of the first, Westminster posted five-straight singles in the bottom of the frame to grab a 4-2 lead. The Titans added two more runs in the second from which the pitchers took contol, keeping both teams scoreless. Scoreless through four innings in game two, the Titans broke things open with a three-run fifth inning. Junior shortstop Logan Murgenovich cleared the bases with the first of two game two triples. After Pitt-Bradford scratched out a run in the top fo the sixth, Westminster turned five hits and a Pitt-Bradford error into seven runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 10-1 lead. Pitt-Bradford plated four runs in the top of the seventh. Freshman Josh Reed induced a game-inning double play to cap his inning of relief.

McDaniel competed at Dickinson for their first road Centennial Conference game of the season. The Red Devils led the majority of the game, but the Green Terror staged a late comeback in the ninth inning to push the game into extra innings. In the 13th inning, Tyler Yohn and Jake Smith each drove in a run to edge Dickinson 8-6. Yohn and Jake Smith combined for seven hits and four RBI's to lead McDaniel (14-8, 2-1 CC). Freshman Gannon Williams pitched a solid last two innings, giving up just one hit to the Red Devils (13-7-1, 2-1 CC). In the top of the 13th inning, Joey Hubinger drew a walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Santino DeFilippo. With two outs, Yohn sent a ball deep into the right center field gap scoring Hubinger. Smith followed that up with a triple to left field bringing in Yohn to take a two-run lead.

Stevenson defeated MAC opponent Hood 19-9 on Tuesday afternoon. Junior Jake Pigeon earned his first win this season after allowing only five hits in five innings while striking out four. Stevenson got off to a strong start, scoring two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. The Mustangs kept their foot on the gas pedal and desoit scoring nine, Hood could never get close.

Misericordia extended its win streak to seven with a 6-4, 11-3 sweep over DeSales, Tuesday at Tambur Field. Jason Sanfilippo's two-run double fueled a four-run sixth inning in the opener and Tyler Leonard scattered seven hits in the complete-game effort to earn the win. Garrett McIlhenney's grand slam broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning of game two and Connor Maryniak struck out five and allowed just six hits to get the win. Brady Madden had two hits in the nightcap while Derrick Vosburg drove in two runs and Brock Bollinger scored three runs.

Immaculata took a break from Atlantic East play when they traveled to The College of New Jersey for a nine inning contest. Immaculata would go on to win 20-7. The offense came out on fire, taking an early eight run lead in the first inning. Batting around in the inning, Josh Crowding, Steven Theisen, Ryan Struble, Justin Klemick, Jay Lawrence and Joey Wright all drove in runs. They would add one more run in the 2nd, another in the 4th, and four more in the 5th inning. In the 6th, they would bring five more runs across the plate. Ryan Struble would round out the scoring with a 7th inning sacrifice fly. The Mighty Macs would rack up 17 hits on the afternoon, headlined by Justin Klemick (4-5 5 RBIs 3R) and Jay Lawrence (3-4 5 RBIs).

Dane Camphausen feasted on Kenyon's pitching to help lead The College of Wooster to a North Coast Athletic Conference sweep over the Owls on Tuesday afternoon at McClosky Field. Wooster's potent offense invoked the run-ahead rule twice, with the Fighting Scots leading 12-2 after seven innings of play in the opener and 19-9 after eight innings of play in the nightcap. First-year Devin Anthony (3-0) went the distance, striking out seven, while allowing two runs on six hits. He did not walk anybody. Senior Owen Barnard (1-0) scored the gamer two win, allowing two runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out four. Camphausen torched Kenyon for seven RBI, and he scored seven times as part of his 5-for-8 day, which saw four of the hits go for extra bases.

Plymouth State rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh, but Colby pulled out a 7-4 win over the Panthers in non-conference action at Coombs Field on Tuesday afternoon. Colby held a 5-0 lead heading into the seventh, but the Panthers cut the deficit to just one after sophomore Danny Quinn and freshman Aidan Ponder each drove in a run and freshman Tyler Hicks ripped a two-run double to make it 5-4. The Mules tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, though, as the hosts held on for the victory.

Rutgers-Camden defeated Keystone 9-8 Tuesday afternoon in nonconference action. With the game tied at eight heading to the top of the ninth, the Scarlet Raptors took the lead with an RBI single up the middle by Giacomo Antonicello to score Sebastian Vega. Rutgers-Camden were able to put up a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the inning to seal the game. Both teams combined for 24 hits in the contest.

On Tuesday afternoon, MIT ran its winning streak to three straight games with a 13-5 home victory over Springfield College at Fran O'Brien Field. Springfield pulled within 5-4 on an unearned run in the top of the fourth before a third RBI from Cartwright scored junior Teddy Schoenfeld to make it a 6-4 game. The MIT scoring run continued in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run frame that extended the lead to 10-4 as a bases-clearing double down the right field line by senior Jake Sonandres keyed the offensive outburst. The Engineers added three more in the bottom of the seventh, along with a single run by Springfield. Sophomore Ethan Siegel came in for the ninth inning and recorded a pair of strikeouts to close out the 13-5 final in favor of MIT.

On the heels of a victory over Chatham on Monday, Geneva kept the spotlight turned on, sweeping the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets in a doubleheader Tuesday. The Golden Tornadoes walked off game one in dramatic fashion, winning 8-7, and then turned the heat up in game two, mercy-ruling the Yellow Jackets 15-0 after seven innings. Waynesburg appeared to have the opener in hand, though, until a costly throwing error gave Geneva hope in the bottom of the ninth. Fresh off his big day yesterday, freshman Ethan Blair scored on an RBI-single from fellow freshman Noah Avey. A strikeout would put the Yellow Jackets just one out away from sneaking out of game one with a win, but senior Alex Fee had other things in mind as he drilled a bases-loaded single into center field, bringing home two runners and stealing the walk-off stunner, 8-7. Several excited fans stuck around 33rd Street Field for game two, and they were not disappointed with the frenzy of scoring they got to see. Geneva's success in game two started on the mound, though, with freshman starter Ryan Conover. Conover would throw a dominant 91-pitch shutout, setting the offense up for success.

The ball was flying out of the yard on Tuesday
afternoon as the Blue Jays launched eight home runs,
five in one inning, to put up 25 runs. The pitching staff
was on it as well holding Washington College to just
one hit an a blowout, 25-0 win.

Johns Hopkins athletics photo

Second-ranked Salisbury extended its winning streak to nine games with a 13-1 victory over the York (Pa.) Spartans on Tuesday afternoon at Jaquet Field. In the second, Dom Frigiola powered a one-out solo home run to center to start a six run inning that put the game out of reach. Salisbury continued to add runs as the pitching kept the Spartans runners from crossing home plate. Jackson Balzan (6-1) won his fourth straight start after giving up one run on three hits over six innings. Balzan walked none and struck out seven on 93 pitches. Tyler Villa, Shawn Rosemond and Todd Hendrix each tossed a scoreless inning in relief to finish the job.

Oberlin earned a doubleheader sweep over Hiram on Tuesday afternoon, winning game one 18-0 in seven innings before taking the nightcap 9-4. The wins leveled the Yeomen's record at 8-8 overall and 2-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Yeomen offense erupted for a season-high 17 hits to score a season-high 18 runs in the lid-lifter. Sophomore Jake Blozy led the way, finishing 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two runs driven in. Jay Aghanya tossed all seven innings on the bump, allowing just three hits while working around five walks in the shutout victory. The 6-foot-6 Herdon, Virginia, native also struck out a career-high seven in the win as he moved to 2-0 on the year. Things certainly didn't go as easy for the Yeomen in the nightcap but the offense would rediscover its rhythm midway through the game to secure the win.

Framingham State erased a 5-0 deficit and scored 11 unanswered runs as the Rams defeated Rivier 11-6 this afternoon in non-conference action at Bowditch Field. Rivier tallied five runs in the top of the first inning opening up the five run advantage. The Rams began to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the third with three runs and tied the game with two in the bottom of the fourth. The Rams took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning with three runs. Evan Kirkpatrick doubled in a pair and Costello added an RBI single. Freshan Adam Martin earned the victory on the mound tossing six and a third innings of scoreless relief allowing just one hit with one walk and 10 strikeouts.

Nine extra-base hits, including four home runs, helped Arcadia salvage a split with Delaware Valley in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom play on Tuesday, taking game 2, 21-2 after falling 8-7 in game one. In the opener, Delaware Valley pushed across four runs in the sixth to take an 8-6 lead. Arcadia was able to cut the deficit to 8-7 in the seventh but was unable to tie the score. In game two, Arcadia plated four runs in the third, the big hit a two-run homer off the bat of Justin Massielo. Anthony Bruno continued his hot hitting with a three-run homer in the fourth, part of a six-run frame giving the Knights a 12-0 lead and the rout was on.

Exactly 28 years ago to the day, Christopher Newport set a program record with 28 runs scored in a win over Maine-Presque Isle on April 4, 1995. On Tuesday, nationally-ranked CNU made history by matching that program record for runs scored in a game with a 28-4 win over Eastern Mennonite on the road. The Captains improved to 25-7 overall this season while tying the near 30-year old record with the offensive explosion and set a new mark for the most runs driven in with 27. The game was shortened after the seventh-inning due to the mercy rule. Making the record-setting performance even more impressive, the Captains logged a pair of 11-run innings during the contest. It marked the first time in 1,588 Christopher Newport baseball games that the Captains scored double figures in an inning more than once in a game. CNU scored 11 in the second and 11 in the sixth, matching the most runs in an inning since scoring 12 against Frostburg State in the seventh inning on March 16, 2019.

Senior shortstop Cavan Brady knocked in three runs and junior starting pitcher Liam Goldthwaite allowed just one run through six innings to lead the No. 17 Wheaton (Mass.) over host Clark, 4-2, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Granger Field in Worcester, Mass. The teams combined for just 10 hits on the day with each collecting five apiece. Wheaton struck first with a run in the first and added two more in the sixth and an insurance run in the ninth, while Clark scored single runs in the sixth and seventh frames. Brady was 3-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored, while junior center fielder AJ Guindon recorded the Lyons' other two hits with a pair of singles in addition to a walk in four plate appearances. Goldthwaite needed just 52 pitches, including 42 for strikes to improve to 4-1 on the year. He allowed just four hits and only faced two batters over the minimum with a pair of runners being erased on the bases in caught stealing situations. He did not walk a batter and struck out three.

Stockton (13-8) played for the third straight day and rapped 15 hits, including five doubles and three home runs, in a 12-1 rout of Penn State Abington (11-11). Eight different Ospreys knocked an extra-base hit on the afternoon. Freshman Antonio Gatti blasted his first career home run while Tucker Elder and Kevin Novobilsky also went yard. Gatti and Elder were two of the five Ospreys with two hits. The Ospreys used a committee approach on the mound, with seven pitchers seeing action and scattering eight hits. Starter Robert Jeans tossed three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed for the win. Six Stockton hurlers pitched one inning apiece as well.

Sophomore Jaxon Masterson had three hits and three RBIs, freshman Mason Jablonski also had three RBIs, and junior Cameron Shields had three hits and two RBIs, to lead Hampden-Sydney to a 16-8 non-conference home win past Mary Baldwin on Tuesday afternoon on Yank Bernier Field at the Ty Cobb Ballpark – Wurdeman Stadium. Freshman Jake Genzler gained the pitching victory in middle relief for the host Tigers (13-12) against the visiting Fighting Squirrels (4-20). H-SC scored 16 runs on 16 hits with six errors, scoring three runs in the first inning, three runs in the second, two runs in the third, six runs in the fourth and two runs in the sixth. MBU scored eight runs on seven hits with no errors, scoring one run each in the first, second and third innings and five runs in the sixth.