AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The William Paterson baseball team (8-3) opened the RussMatt Invitational with a 12-6 victory against Ripon (2-4) March 15.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pioneers struck first with three runs in the bottom of the second. WP had runners on first and second when junior Jordan Brown ripped an RBI double into the gap in right center before senior Connor Luckie drove in two runs with a two-bagger of his own.
- In the fourth, junior Dylan Santos launched a ball over the fence for his second home run of the season, extending the WP advantage to four (4-0).
- A costly fielding error by Ripon allowed a run to cross in the fifth for the Pioneers before Santos drove in another with a double down the right field line to make it a six-run game (6-0).
- Ripon trimmed the deficit in half (6-3) with three runs in the sixth inning.
- WP responded with a five-run bottom half of the frame to push the advantage to eight (11-3). With one out and the bases loaded, senior Braden Ramirez drove in two runs with a single to left. A sacrifice fly by sophomore Ty Kobylakiewicz allowed another run to cross. Two batters later, senior Eliot Germanson came in to pinch hit and ripped a two-RBI base hit to right.
- The Red Hawks plated three runs in the eighth to make it a five-run game (11-6).
- WP tacked on one final run in the eighth off a throwing error by the Ripon infield before securing the 12-6 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Junior Chase Geisler improved to 3-0 after allowing just three earned runs in 7.0 innings of work with a career-high nine strikeouts.
- Santos batted 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
- Brown went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
- Daproza logged two hits and crossed home once.
- Germanson, Luckie and Ramirez each drove in a pair of runs.
UP NEXT:
- The Pioneers will take on Framingham State Sunday, March 16, at 3:00 p.m. in Auburndale, Fla.
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