FORT MYERS, FL – Offense was the name of the game for Eastern Connecticut State University Baseball against the University of Wisconsin-Stout at Lee County Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Florida on Monday morning. The Warriors' (5-0) lineup brought the heat to a chilly morning in the Sunshine State to earn a resounding 20-3 victory in seven innings over the Blue Devils (1-3) in the first matchup in program history between the two teams.
It was a battle of the aces in the early going as UW-Stout sent their top pitcher in senior right-hander Jace Baumann to the mound to face off against Eastern's top man in junior righty Billy Oldham (Brookfield).
After the first two Warriors reached base in the first inning, Baumann would settle in to retire the next three batters in the heart of the lineup to keep Eastern off the scoreboard. UW-Stout would strike first as senior third baseman Joel Thimsen, who entered the game hitting .500 in the Blue Devils' first three games, lifted a double into the gap in left-center with two outs to put his team in front, 1-0.
The Warrior bats would respond in the third inning as junior utilityman Zach Donahue (South Windsor) and senior outfielder Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury) reached base via the walk and a hit by pitch. A line-drive double over the head of junior second baseman Levi Wilson by senior third baseman Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) scoring two runs followed by a single from senior outfielder Jack Rich (Meriden) gave Eastern their first lead of the game, 3-1.
The Blue Devils threatened to mount a rally in the bottom half of the third when back-to-back singles put runners on first and second with nobody out. Shortstop Charlie Szykowny followed the two singles with a single of his own, scoring a run to bring UW-Stout's deficit to one, 3-2. Oldham would proceed to strike out three of the next four batters he faced swinging while working around a walk that loaded the bases.
Senior outfielder John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) drove in his first RBI of the season, before finishing with three on the morning, as his double to deep right field scored Donahue from second to reclaim Eastern's two-run lead in the fourth inning. That would be the beginning of 17 unanswered runs scored by the Warriors over the next three innings.
Zach Donahue singled home two runners in the fifth inning, earning his first RBIs of the season to give Eastern some breathing room, 6-2, after Baumann was lifted early in the inning after giving up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with one out.
After throwing five shutout innings against Bethel University earlier in the month, Baumann finished the game versus the Warriors having gone 4 1/3 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits while walking three, striking out three, and hitting two batters.
After Broadhurst narrowly missed a lead-off home run to start the sixth that went off the top of the fence in centerfield, senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) gave Eastern a 10-2 lead with a towering three-run home run to left field, his first of the season.
Seven of the last 10 runs for the Warriors would come from walks, hit batters, and wild pitches while senior shortstop Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) and sophomore first baseman Ryan Parent (Southington) gave Eastern two of their other runs via a single and sacrifice fly.
The 20th run of the game came off the bat of Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) in a seventh inning. The hit was the first of Soriano's collegiate career and his first career run batted in.
Billy Oldham followed up his stellar first start against Hood College with an equally impressive outing having gone six innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking one and finishing with 10 strikeouts on the morning. In 13 innings of work, Oldham has struck out 24 batters while walking just two and pitching to a 1.38 ERA after two starts.
Sophomore right-handed reliever Alexander Valdes (Miami, FL) made his first collegiate pitching appearance in his home state. The Miami, Florida native worked through the seventh and final inning of the game, giving up one run on two hits, striking out two, and walking one batter.
The Warriors continue their trip in Fort Myers, Florida with a doubleheader tomorrow as they take on Skidmore College for the first time in program history at Terry Park Sports Complex for an 11:00 AM start time before traveling to Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, Florida for a 6:00 PM matchup with Webster University. Eastern has only played the Gorloks once back in 2015, falling 12-3 in Auburndale, Florida.