WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Marymount University baseball team remained hot on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Youth Academy, opening up Atlantic East Conference play against Wesley College with a clean sweep of the doubleheader.
Game 1: Marymount 14, Wesley 3 (7 innings)
Sophomore Ryan Bergenhagen, who tossed five innings for the game to earn his second win of the season, needed the first inning to heat up, giving up a Wolverine run in the top of the first on a RBI single.
However, he settled in with no hits in the second inning before the Saints' offense found five runs on four hits in the bottom half of the frame to seal up a lead that wouldn't falter the rest of the way. Junior Mike Ferrara got the scoring started, sending a hard-hit ball toward the shortstop who bobbled the ball for the fielding error while sophomore James DiGiulian sprinted home for the 1-1 score.
Sophomore Casey Baker and senior Austin Sizemore brought around the other four runs, each lacing two-RBI hits, as Baker sent a single up the middle and Sizemore roped a double to left centerfield.
Wesley got within three with another run in the top of the third, but the Saints erased any doubt with six more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a commanding 11-2 lead. A wild pitch started the scoring, as Ferrara ran home and senior Luke Tyree headed to third with one out. He wouldn't be there for long, as senior Conner Hall on the next at-bat sent a high-fly ball to left field, and the Wolverine misplayed the catch for the error, but Hall still earned the RBI as Tyree sprinted home.
Three more hits in the rest of the inning scored four more runs, as again Sizemore added two more RBI to his stat line on a single to center field, while junior Will DiGiulian and brother James DiGiulian followed with a RBI each.
The pitching continued to remain tough on the defensive side, only allowing one more run the rest of the way in the top of the fourth, and the Saints answered with three more runs through the fifth and sixth.
Baker had a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Hall in the fifth, and Ferrara scored James DiGiulian in the sixth with a RBI double before Tyree singled through the middle to score Ferrara.
All nine Saints that came to bat registered at least one hit in the game, led by Sizemore who went 2-for-2 with four RBI, a run, and two walks.
Bergenhagen was relieved for the final two innings by sophomore Stephen Gerade and junior Matthew Schneider, each tossing an inning for no runs and one hit.
Game 2: Marymount 14, Wesley 2 (9 innings)
Junior Kenny Sysyn tossed a two-hit gem in game two, going seven innings for one run.
Through his time on the mound, he pitched six shutout innings, just giving up a run in the top of the second on a run that scored during a grounded-into-doulbe-play scenario.
On the offensive end, the Saints scored consistently, finding home plate in all innings except for the first and seventh. Their two most productive innings were in the fifth with five runs and the eighth with four more runs.
Scoring 14 runs on 10 hits, Sizemore and Ferrara led game two with three hits each, while Sizemore added four more RBI to his day total.
Through the doubleheader, Sizemore went 5-for-8 at the plate for eight RBI, two runs, two walks, and three doubles, and a triple.
Marymount has a short break from competition until Wednesday, March 20 when it travels to the University of Mary Washington for a single nine-inning game at 3 p.m.