Teams make statements with top 25 upsets

Junior Dylan Santos provided four of William Paterson's 22 hits during a 13-5 triumph against Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
William Paterson athletics photo

No. 5 Salve Regina University took a 1-0 lead after batting in the top of the first at Mitchell College on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Field in New London, Connecticut, but the Mariners rallied for a 4-3 victory with the help of a couple of unearned runs. The Seahawks (9-3) outhit the Mariners (5-12), 7-to-5, but could only muster single runs in the first, fourth, and sixth innings, and were fighting from behind since the second. Salve Regina entered today's game with a 13-3 mark in the all-time series since 2010. The Seahawks had won the last the last four meetings including a record-setting (since broken) 27-2 triumph in Newport one year ago to the date. The Mariners had last won on the back end of a doubleheader in May 2021 when both teams had qualified for the NCAA postseason and still had room for games to add before the championships began.

Saint John's (Minn.) returned to the win column with an impressive 11-0 victory in seven innings – the 899th of head coach Jerry Haugen's career – over No. 19/25 Rutgers-Camden (N.J.) on Thursday. The game was a nine-inning contest but ended after the seventh inning due to the 10-run rule. Senior third baseman Joe Becker broke former teammate Ethan Roe's program record for home runs with the 26th of his career in the third inning. SJU's all-time leader in RBI (153) and total bases (335), Becker is also second in doubles (43), hits (194), runs scored (142) and triples (10); fourth in games played (154); and sixth in walks (62). Senior southpaw Will Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn./Blake) allowed only one hit – a leadoff double in the Scarlet Raptors' (11-4 overall) first at-bat of the game – and struck out a career-high 10 (with nine walks) in 6.2 innings. Rutgers-Camden, which was ranked high as No. 19 in Monday's (March 17) D3baseball.com Top 25 poll, batted 0-for-10 with runners on base, including 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position on the day.

St. Olaf College began its Florida trip with a 3-2 walk-off victory over No. 13-ranked Rowan University in 10 innings for its first top-15 win in seven years on Thursday at Chain O'Lakes Park. Facing an offense that entered the day ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division III in runs per game (10.8) and No. 11 in batting average (.355), four St. Olaf (6-3) pitchers held Rowan (11-2) to six hits before junior Breckin Hadley broke a 2-2 tie with a walk-off infield hit with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th. The victory was the first for the Oles over a top-15 team since a 6-3 win over third-ranked UW-Whitewater on March 26, 2018. Sophomore Kieran Haaland earned his first win of the season by limiting Rowan to one run on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief, including getting a double play to get the Oles out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the seventh. Senior Matthew Oberlander allowed just one hit over the first 3.0 innings and sophomore Nick Levasseur did not surrender a hit over his 2.1 innings of relief.

Amherst College continued to liv well against ranked opponents Thursday morning, rallying from four runs down to score four runs in the sixth and seventh innings and hold on to defeat No. 18-ranked Babson, 11-8, at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. Babson scored three in the fourth and the fifth to take a 6-2 lead and get Amherst starter Matt Tabet out of the game. The Mammoth righty started strong, needing only 30 pitches to get through the first three frames, but ultimately would go five frames an give up five hits while walking two. He fanned three batters and was charged with six runs, only three which were earned. In the Amherst top of the sixth, the Mammoths tied the game, 6-6 and took the lead 10-6 after seven. In the meantime Mammoth first-year Walker Dellinger was mowing Babson down from the bump. He struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth, retired the side in order in the seventh and worked around a single in the eighth, striking out the final batter. In his first three innings, he allowed one hit with no walks while striking out five and ultimately earned his first collegiate victory.

Thursday's scores

No. 2-ranked Johns Hopkins faced UMass Boston (8-4) in the seventh game of their spring break, Thursday afternoon, defeating the Beacons 5-4. The Blue Jay offense scored four unanswered runs, taking the lead in the sixth inning. The Beacons jumped out to an early lead and led 4-1 after four. Threatening with two on and one out, Caleb Cyr loaded the bases with a single to left field. With two outs, Jacob Harris came up with the clutch at-bat, roping a single to left field, knotting the game up at four after five. The Blue Jay offense kept its foot on the gas, with the Beacons pitching staff walking the bases loaded in the sixth. With one out and the bases juiced, a wild pitch scored Siani – his third run of the game – giving Hopkins its first lead of the contest, 5-4. Cole Jefferson earned the win, moving to 2-0 on the season, throwing two innings in relief, retiring 6-of-9 batters faced, striking out one. Tomas Cancian followed suit, shutting the Beacons down, retiring 5-of-6 batters faced throwing 1.2 innings, recording a strikeout and surrendering one hit. Grant Meert made an appearance, securing the victory and save (1) for Hopkins, retiring the only batter he faced.

No. 4 nationally ranked Endicott ended its RussMatt Tournament trip with a 10-1 defeat of The College Of New Jersey on Thursday morning. Endicott grabbed hold of an early 2-0 lead in the first after Danny MacDougall and Joey Frammartino both scored on some heads-up baserunning. They piled onto their lead in the bottom of the third, plating six runs in the frame via a hit-parade. After TCNJ scratched across its first run of the day in the top of the eighth, the Blue and Green tacked on two more of their own in the bottom half courtesy of a Robbie Wladkowski RBI double and a MacDougall RBI groundout, taking a commanding 10-1 lead. Hale was dominant over his six innings of work, only allowing two Lions baserunners while fanning seven. He was replaced by the bullpen tandem of Chris Jenkins, Kyan Bagshaw, Evan Scully, and Max Jarvie, who combined for three innings of relief and allowed just one earned run to cement the victory.

Rutgers-Newark (8-8) concluded its segment of the Russ
Matt Central Florida Invitational on a high note, as the
Scarlet Raiders defeated the MCLA 14-2 in a run-rule
decision in its last game of the tournament.
Rutgers-Newark athletics photo by Larry Levanti

No. 16 UW-La Crosse extended their win streak to four games as they defeated Hope College 12-3 on Thursday afternoon. UWL got things going offensively right away and the Flying Dutchmen would get that run back in the bottom half of the first inning as they would score an unearned run on one hit and an error. The first four Eagles to bat in the second inning would reach base safely and UWL would send 10 hitters to the plate in the inning making it 7-1. The Eagles would go on to out score Hope 5-2 for the nine run victory. Offensively, UWL finished with 12 runs on 16 hits and two walks. Owen Anderson (1-1) earned his first win of the season on the mound as he allowed three runs (two earned) on 10 hits and one walk while striking out six in 7.0 innings of work.

Marywood University hosted New Jersey City University Thursday afternoon for their home opener. The Pacers (6-6) bats heated up in the second inning and stayed hot to go on and slash the Gotham Knights (7-3-1), 20-6. Christian Michak, Tristan Gatchalain, and Adam Ginsberg led the Pacers with four hits a piece. New Jersey City notched three runs in the top of the third, giving the Gotham Knights a 4-2 lead. The Pacers' bats exploded in the bottom half, plating six runs to get the lead for good and put the game out of reach with five more runs scored in the bottom half of the sixth. Charlie Hamm came in for relief and helped the Pacers get out of a bases loaded jam. Hamm earned the win. In two innings, Hamm allowed one hit and struck out two. Austin Bausman and Ronan McManus pitched in relief as well for the Pacers combining for two walks, two strikeouts, and three hits.

Chatham (8-8, 0-0 PAC) scored 10 runs in the final two innings of Thursday's game at La Roche (3-11, 0-0 AMCC) to rout the Redhawks 15-2. Up 5-1, Chatham poured on the offense in the late innings, scoring six in the seventh and four in the eight to end the game under the mercy rule. Devin Fluhmann was 2-5 at the plate with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Tommy Schubert went 2-4, drove in 2 runs and scored twice. Peter Tadic scored 3 runs and was 2-6 with an RBI, and Eddie Rueda went 3-6 with 2 RBI. Matt Bamford earned the win on the mound for the Cougars, allowing 1 earned run in 5 innings with 3 strikeouts. Cason Bennett tossed a scoreless inning in relief with 2 strikeouts and allowed no hits, and Drew Schreck also threw a scoreless inning.

After opening the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a loss to No. 16 Wisconsin-La Crosse on Wednesday night, Maritime College had a quick turnaround before taking on Ripon on Thursday morning. That proved to be no issue for the Privateers, as Andrew Heiderstadt pitched 6.2 strong innings to lead Maritime (6-7) to its first victory of the trip, 4-2 over the Red Hawks (3-8) at Northeast Regional Park. Heiderstadt (4-0) allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out six and walked two. Joe Sorge earned the save after giving up just a walk in 2.1 innings. Offensively, the Privateers had eight hits. Alex Bardi was 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Logan Martinson finished 2-for-3 at the plate. For the Red Hawks, Alex Pankratz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Sophomore Andrew Garrett hit a game-tying three-run double in the fourth to provide the big blow in a five-run fourth, and four Knox College relievers twirled four no-hit, scoreless innings to squeak past Framingham State on Thursday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park, 7-6. Garrett finished the game 3-for-5 with a run and three RBIs for the Prairie Fire (6-3), while the Rams fell to 1-8 on the season. Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the fourth, Knox flipped the score, scoring 5 to grab a 7-5 lead. Framingham State got one of those runs back in the fifth on a two-out double and an RBI single, but first-year starter Jacob Halseth got the final out with the lead intact at 7-6. From there, the bullpen took over. Senior Brandon Ward then retired the side in order with two strikeouts of his own to earn his third save. Halseth (2-1) earned the win, allowing six runs, all earned, on 11 hits but no walks while fanning two.

Sophomore Ray Campbell smashed his first three collegiate home runs as Plymouth State University hammered Colby-Sawyer College, 18-12, in the Panthers’ final game of the Myrtle Beach College Baseball Spring Training at Griffith Field on Thursday. Campbell belted a two-run dinger in the second and added a solo shot an inning later. With one out in the ninth, he became just the fourth player in program history to hit three homers in a game, capping the Panthers’ offensive explosion. Every PSU batter finished with a multi-hit game, with Campbell going 4-for-5 with a walk, five RBIs and three runs scored. Plymouth State pounded out 25 total hits, just four shy of the program record, including eight extra-base knocks. Sophomore Sam Salvi and senior Danny Quinn also recorded four-hit games for the Panthers. Plymouth State moves to 3-5, while the Chargers fall to 3-10.

The University of Chicago (11-4) exploded for a commanding 25-8 win over Carleton (3-3) on Thursday evening in Davenport, Florida. The Maroons' offense was in full swing, tallying 25 runs on 21 hits in a game that saw them break open a tight contest with a multi-inning barrage of runs. After a scoreless first two innings, Chicago broke through in the third, plating six runs. The offense didn't slow down, adding another seven runs in the fourth inning to lead 13-0. Carleton would respond with three runs in the fourth inning, but the damage was already done. The Maroons added four more in the fifth and continued to pour it on in the sixth inning with a 7-run rally, highlighted by a Brady Miller triple and a Jack Sharp triple. Offensively, UChicago was led by Max Weisner, who went 4-for-5 with seven RBIs.

Sophomore RHP Jimmy Muthersbaugh did not allow an earned run and struck out five over five innings to lead Western Connecticut State University to a 10-3 victory over the Newport News Apprentice School Builders in game two of a baseball doubleheader this evening at Griffith Field. WestConn, which rallied back after a 17-0 loss in the first game, stops a six-game losing streak and heads back to Connecticut with a 4-6 record. Sophomore Ryan Vallie was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI and freshman C Elliot Kleinman went 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run, and two RBIs to pace the Wolves offense.

Kalamazoo College defeated DePauw University 11-0 in the Hornets' first game in Florida. Kalamazoo scored one in the third, one in the fifth, three in the eighth and six in the ninth while holding the Tigers scoreless. Jacob Davis struck out 13 and walked none in the complete game win. The 13 strikeouts ties his mark from earlier in the year as the second-most in a game in school history. Davis now has five career shutouts, tying him for the most in school history. Kalamazoo had 18 hits in the game compared to six by DePauw. Austin Keur had three hits including a double. Ryar Rinehart had three hits with a double and three RBIs. Logan Lockhart also had three hits with a double and three RBIs. Cooper Mills and Caleb Moore each had two hits with a double. Cade Preissing's two hits included a double and a home run. The win was Kalamazoo's 10th straight, improving to 10-2 on the season. It was also the seventh straight game scoring 10 or more runs.

Mount Saint Mary College leaned on stellar pitching to shut down Baruch, winning 5-2, securing first home victory of the season. The Knights came out hot but couldn't cash in early. In the bottom of the 1st, Chris Calvario walked, Tyler Van De Bogart singled, and Aidan Marshall's walk loaded the bases, but Baruch held firm. Michael Di Tullio took the mound and kept the Bearcats quiet, working around a hit-by-pitch and a single to escape the top half with no damage. The scoring started in the 2nd. Daniel Mack singled to center, and Stephen Volk got hit by a pitch. Frank Signorelli ripped a triple to right, scoring Mack and Volk to put Mount Saint Mary up 2-0. Calvario kept the rally going with an RBI single to plate Signorelli, and after a walk to Van De Bogart, Luke Barone's sacrifice fly brought Calvario home, making it 4-0. Di Tullio dominated, throwing 7 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. The Knights defense was sharp, turning four double plays, including a 6-4-3 in the 3rd, to keep Baruch off the board. In the 6th, Volk tripled to right, and Noah Anderson's sacrifice fly scored him, pushing the lead to 5-0. In the 8th Baruch began to rally. A walk and two doubles narrowed the lead to 5-2. With runners on, John Morehead entered from the bullpen. Baruch singled to left, but Justin Stella gunned a runner out at home on a perfect relay to hold the lead. In the 9th Baruch threatened with a two out single but Morehead struck out Longarzo to earn the save and seal the 5-2 victory.