New England teams getting back to business

Benedictine University and St. Norbert split their doubleheaded on Satuerday The Green Knights posted a 7-3 win in the opener and Benedictine posted a 3-0 shutout in game two to salvage a split
Benedictine athletics photo by Steve Woltmann.

Coast Guard split a tough doubleheader with #6 ranked Salve Regina. Both games were nail biters by final scores of 3-1 in favor of the Bears in game one and 6-5 in favor of the Seahawks in game two. In game one, Coast Guard got all the offense they would need with one swing of the bat in the 2nd inning. After Carson Cho singled and Parker Madden reached on a dropped third strike, reigning NEWMAC hitter of the week Rick Barkley made Salve pay by hitting an opposite field three run home run to give the Bears a 3-1 lead. That score would hold for the remainder of the game with excellent pitching on both sides. Freshman starter Vito Giordano was masterful on the mound, going eight strong innings to earn his second win of the season. The freshman from Scarsdale, NY struck out seven and did not allow an earned run in his effort. Fellow freshman and reigning NEWMAC pitcher of the week Ryan Karman came in for the 9th inning and did not allow any runs or hits to earn his third save of the season. In game two, the Bears gave Salve too many extra chances. CGA left 14 men on base and made two errors in the 6-5 loss.

Hobart got its first home run of the season and capped off a 7-4 win over St. Lawrence with a triple play in Game 1 of a three-game Liberty League series. Senior Ty Gallagher launched a three-run homer in the second inning and sealed the win with the rarest play in baseball at Falcon Park this afternoon. Starter Teck Nash gave the Statesmen a solid six innings. He didn't allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth. At the end of six, Nash left the mound with a 7-4 Hobart lead, having allowed seven hits while striking out three. Sophomore Max Friedlander allowed just one base runner while pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth inning. Junior Nicholas Franceschi came on to pitch the ninth and earn the save. He walked the first two batters to bring up the Saints' No. 3 hitter Timothy O'Connor. He drove the first pitch toward the gap in right center that sliced away from Byrnes in center. The first-year from nearby Cazenovia got a great jump on the ball caught it and fired a strike to Garvin at first base. Both runners had taken off on contact. Garvin tagged the trail runner as he tried to return to first and rifled the ball to Johnson covering second to get the lead runner, who had gone all the way to third for a game ending triple play.

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Adam Mieczkowski tied the game with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh and singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Cortland defeated Brockport, 5-4, in the first of a three-game SUNYAC series at Wallace Field. Cortland (13-8-1, 7-0 SUNYAC) won its seventh straight game. Cortland's winning rally started when Dylan Mackenzie was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Pinch runner Luke Schartner moved to second on a wild pitch and pinch hitter Danny Jackson as intentionally walked after working a 3-0 count. Mieczkowski lined a 2-2 pitch to left for a single to bring home Schartner.

No. 21 ranked TCNJ earned their first sweep of the season on Saturday, defeating Rutgers-Newark by scores of 12-6 and 15-9 in the two victories. It took an all-around team effort in both games as the Lions (16-4, 4-1) took down the Scarlet-Raiders (15-11, 0-6). In both games the Lions jumped out to an early lead only to see the Scarlet Raiders draw close. TCNJ would pull away late in both.

Mount Union swept Otterbein, 7-3 and 7-6, in an Ohio Athletic Conference showdown at home on Saturday. In game one, Otterbein (18-7, 4-2 OAC), who was receiving national votes, led 3-2 in top of the third inning, however, Mount Union (17-6, 4-2 OAC) outscored the Cardinals 5-0 for the rest of the game. Mount Union had a 14-8 hit advantage. Graduate Zack Mazza had a double and a sacrifice fly. Freshman Luke Ickes went 3 for 4 with an RBI, a run, and drew a walk. Junior Zachary Breeden improved to 2-2 on the mound, pitching eight innings, giving up three runs off eight hits, striking out four and walking two. Junior Brady Hansen earned the save after sealing the win in the ninth. With two on and no outs, Hansen forced a double play and had a strikeout. In the nightcap, the Cardinals seemed in control with a 6-0 lead with only three innings of play left. The Purple Raiders, however, rallied with seven unanswered runs, capped off with the game-winning single in the eighth by senior Jaired Lehman – scoring classmate Andrew Witte. Junior Alex Stegman went 2 for 4 with a pair of RBIs and a run. Stegman was one of four Raiders with an extra-base hit. Hansen earned the win, improved to 5-0 on the season, after coming in for relief with two hitless innings and four strikeouts.

Hope College second baseman Nolan Gardner launched a no-doubt grand slam over the right-field fence at Boeve Baseball Stadium and delivered a satisfying exclamation point. The Flying Dutchmen swept Alma College 8-5 in nine innings and 12-0 in seven innings on Saturday to win the weekend series and reclaim a share of the MIAA lead. Hope (11-11, 5-1 MIAA) bounced back from 2-1 loss at Alma on Friday in the series opener. "I told our kids yesterday we just had to tip our cap to [Alma ace Tyler Johnson]. He is one of the best this league has seen," head coach Stu Fritz said. "We just wanted to be a little more aggressive and have a little more energy today. We came out and got two really good pitching performances. I think Alma is a really good club. Our guys just rose to the challenge."

Ryan Chang's bat and arm helped Carleton College sweep a doubleheader at Bethel University by scores of 10-2 and 10-9 (11 inn.). Sam Chutkow tossed a complete game for the win in the opener, and Chang finished the day a combined 5-for-7 with two home runs, including a grand slam, in addition to pitching the final 4.0 frames of the game two triumph. "I'm very proud of the competitiveness and belief we showed all day," said Carleton head coach Alec Holcomb. "Great performance by Sam Chutkow, setting the tone in game one. The way Chang competed at the dish, in the field, and then coming in to close the door on the mound carried us in game two." With an opposite field single in the bottom of the fourth in game two Matthew Carlsen notched ab 210th career hit as a member of the Bethel baseball team and became the Royals all-time hits leader.

Freshman Zach Wernoski had the game-winning RBI in the opener and drove in four in Game 2 as Randolph-Macon split an ODAC doubleheader with Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon, Randolph-Macon 6-12, Bridgewater 5-13. RMC would win the opener in the bottom of the ninth. Quici reached on an error and Schmitt walked. With one away, Quici was forced out at third on a fielder's choice. Wernoski singled to left to drive in Schmitt with the game-winner. In the nightcap, the Eagles used a three-run homer to take a 12-11 lead in the fifth. BC added an insurance run in the top of the ninth before RMC rallied in the bottom of the ninth.

Minn-Morris faced Northland College twice on Saturday and came away with two wins in fourteen total innings of play. With the wind blowing out, the Cougars kept the scoring relatively low for Northland in the first game, winning 25-9. In the second game, the Cougars roared back from an 11-2 deficit to claim a 28-17 win as they moved to 9-11 (4-2 UMAC) on the season. Minnesota Morris started the game out strong and won the game in the first. With Cole Mammenga on the mound and help from the Cougar defense in the field kept the top of the first inning scoreless for the Lumberjacks. The Cougar bats were swinging in the bottom of the first, as the Cougars scored twelve runs, both Landen Meyerdirk and Ben Meuser hit grand slams, and the Lumberjacks were forced to go to the bullpen immediately. A 2-1 lead for Minnesota Morris after the first inning was just a taste of what was to come as the second game unfolded. Six walks in the top of the second inning alone helped Northland to plate 10 runs and take an 11-2 lead, however the Cougars would manage to reclaim a 12-11 lead by the time the second inning was done as the team bashed eight hits in the inning, including a three-run shot from Ryan McGie. While Northland continued to put up runs, they could not match the Cougar offense and Minn-Morris secured the UMAC sweep.

UChicago was back at home in Midwest Conference play and looking to rebound after a tough two game loss to Beloit on Friday. The Maroon bats were active all day and the pitching took care of the Fighting Scots offense, 6-1 and 10-4, in a two game sweep on Saturday. UChicago's (6-15, 5-2 MWC) first game against Monmouth College (10-10, 3-5 MWC) featured some timely offense and a stellar pitching performance. The Maroons really only needed two of those six runs however as John Butka was in control the entire afternoon. The UChicago starter tossed a complete game, allowing just one run off six hits to get his second win of the season. The offense kept cruising right along in game two for the Maroons. The home team compiled ten runs and 18 hits as they tried to take both games from Monmouth. UChicago did their most damage in the first where they took advantage of some Monmouth errors to push across five runs.

Luke Bass and Brennen Davis combined for eight hits and seven runs scored in game one, to help Lewis & Clark College earn a doubleheader split with Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Gatto Field. Lewis & Clark won the opener 10-4 and lost the nighcap 9-6. Justin Cavagnaro recorded a two-out, two-run, go-ahead single in the seventh inning of game one and Lewis & Clark added four insurance runs in the eighth to move two games above .500 for the first time this season. Bass, Davis, Brandon Gonzaga and Will Heron all recorded four hits on the afternoon to lead Lewis & Clark offensively.

Strong starting pitcher keyed Washington & Jefferson College in its doubleheader sweep of visiting Chatham University Saturday afternoon in a Presidents' Athletic Conference play at Ross Memorial Park. The Presidents took an early lead and tacked on throughout a 6-3 game one victory. W&J took a low scoring affair by a 3-1 margin in game two for the sweep. The Presidents hit a school-record four sac flies in the game one win. The offense, which has excelled throughout the season at putting up big numbers, proved it could win by moving runners and putting together productive situational at bats. The Presidents were also hit with six pitches in game one. Anthony Pass (Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny) turned in his third straight stellar performance on the mound. The sophomore allowed just one unearned run in eight innings. Pass struck out eight and walked just one run. Pass has allowed just three runs over his past 25 innings. He has a 4-1 record on the season. Pass received all the support he needed in the bottom of the first inning. LaDuca tripled down the right field line to open the game. Garth then followed with a productive out, as his RBI groundout to second plated La Duca to make it 1-0.

Saint John's (Minn.) swept Gustavus Adolphus with a pair of extra-inning wins on a gusty Saturday, April 6, in St. Peter. SJU (11-7, 3-1 MIAC) had the Gusties (10-9, 2-2 MIAC) down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh inning in both games, but the home team managed to tie it in both instances. The Johnnies responded, however, with three runs in the top of the eighth inning in both contests for 6-3 and 8-5 victories. In MIAC play, the first game of the doubleheader is seven innings and the second contest changes from nine innings to seven if the first reaches extras. The Johnnies, meanwhile, clubbed four home runs and took advantage of 17 free passes (13 walks and four hit batsmen) from 11 GAC pitchers (nine in game two alone). Senior right fielder Rodney Erickson led SJU's offensive attack with a 5-for-11 performance at the plate that included two doubles and a homer.

Penn State Abington swept the three-game United East Conference series against visiting Lancaster Bible College with a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon at Alverthorpe Park. The Nittany Lions took the opener, 4-0, before senior Montana Milward delivered a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth in game two to give Abington a 3-2 victory. A two-run first inning home run by senior Shane Fillman was all the offense the Nittany Lions would need on a day that the Chargers were held to just two hits in the game. Milward launched a solo home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the ninth to give the Nittany Lions the three-game series sweep of the Chargers with a 3-2 victoty. Milward's walk-off homer came with two outs in the inning. Milward's walk-off homer marked his fourth home run of the season; one shy of his career-high that he set a year ago. He finished the game 1-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Following a game one loss, North Central College scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to extend the game into extras where the Cardinals took advantage of an Illinois Wesleyan University error to claim a 6-5 victory in game two on Saturday evening at Zimmerman Stadium. The Titans won the opener 6-3. Illinois Wesleyan scored three runs on one hit, two walks, and a North Central error to take a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The John Michael Scumaci singled to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning before Trey Roach walked. With runners on first and second, dave Fitzpatrick moved them up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt. Taylor Kujak hit into a fielder's choice on a groundball back to the pitcher. The Titans hurler attempted to get the force out at the plate, but threw it wide as Scumaci scored the game-winning run to secure a 6-5 win for North Central.

Sophomore Brandon Cassedy (6-1) continued his stellar second season with an eight-inning gem against Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon, lifting the 18th-ranked Captains to a 9-5 win in Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference play. The CNU baseball team improved to 19-6 overall with a 1-0 record in league play after Cassedy struck out 11 to earn his sixth win of the season. The Captains led 4-1 after three and then 9-2 after six innings before Mary Washington staged a late-inning comeback bid that would fall short against the home team. The CNU offense raked 15 hits including seven for extra bases and scored nine runs against an Eagles pitching staff that ranked 15th nationally in team ERA coming into the Saturday afternoon contest.

UW-Whitewater took down UW-Oshkosh, 5-2 and 6-5, in
both games on Saturday. After an exciting two games,
UW-Whitewater leads the series 2-0 with two more games
to come on Monday.
UW-Whitewater athletics photo

Case Western Reserve picked up two more wins on Saturday with a sweep of a doubleheader against Brandeis at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, winning the first game 8-0 before completing the sweep with a 7-3 win in the second contest. CWRU has now won five straight games and 12 of their last 13 games to improve to 20-6 overall for the season. The Spartans also remained in sole possession of first place in the University Athletic Association standings with a 6-1 conference record. Brandeis fell to 4-16 overall with an 0-3 league mark. The Spartans were led by junior right fielder Nick Harms, who finished the day five-for-six at the plate with four runs, two RBIs, two walks, a home run, and two doubles. Meanwhile, the Spartans' pitching staff held the Judges scoreless in 17 of the 18 innings and struck out 28 batters during the two games while walking just four.

John Jay opened up CUNYAC play on Saturday, sweeping the defending league champion CCNY Beavers, 9-7 and 11-5. For John Jay, they snapped an eight-game losing streak to CCNY and last won back-to-back games against the Beavers nearly five years to the date. In the top of the sixth of the opener, the Bloodhounds took a 5-3 lead following a three-run inning but CCNY responded with a three-run bottom of the frame to take a one-run lead. In the top of the seventh, the visitors continued their offensive output, tallying four runs and halting a comeback from the Beavers as John Jay posted a 9-7 win in the conference lidlifter. John Jay scored in six of the seven innings and held off CCNY in the nightcap of the second game, as the Bloodhounds defeated the Beavers, 11-5, in a back-and-forth scoring affair.

Westminster (Pa.) junior left fielder Chris Davis had the first four-hit game of his career in Saturday afternoon's 7-5 victory over visiting Penn State Behrend. Westminster, winners of three of its last four, improved to 8-11. Penn State Behrend fell to 10-5. Davis finished 4-for-4 and hit the first home of his career, a solo shot to right center, in the sixth that extended the Titans' lead to 7-4. Senior second baseman Logan Murgenovich went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Fifth-year right fielder Carter Chinn smacked his first home of the season in the fifth. It was the sixth home run of his career. Chinn finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and run scored. Saturday was his fourth multi-RBI game of the year. Senior first baseman Jake Dockum was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. He is riding a four-game hitting streak.

No. 23 Eastern Connecticut State University used strong starting pitching to lead from start-to-finish in the first game and shutdown relief pitching to come from behind in the second and post an 8-1, 10-4 Little East Conference sweep of Rhode Island College and lengthen its winning streak to 17 Saturday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium. In the first game, junior righty Matthew Wootton won his third game in as many decisions this year and improve his lifetime record to 11-1 by pitching into the eighth inning and allowing only four hits. In the nightcap, righty relievers Tyler Rice, Nolan Lincoln and Connor Willett helped the staff lower its season ERA to 3.00 by giving up only one hit over five scoreless innings while fanning three without a walk. Rice (2-0) struck out two and was touched for only one hit in 2 2/3 innings. Rhode Island (9-9, 1-5 LEC) had swept Eastern for the second time in four years last season at Providence, RI, winning both ends of the regular-season doubleheader by a run. Eastern (18-5, 6-0 LEC) countered by defeating the Anchormen on their home field en route to the LEC tournament title. Now 8-0 at home, Eastern has not lost since beginning the season with a 1-5 record, the most recent setback coming by a score of 3-2 three weeks ago at Guilford College. Three of its losses have come by a total of four runs.

Senior Sean Liquori pitched a complete game with a career-high ten strikeouts on Saturday afternoon, helping Oneonta to a 6-1 win over Fredonia. Senior Liam Kaseta led off with a double to right field in the eighth and was singled home by Franklin Padilla to make it 5-1. Joey Dwyer scored on an error in the ninth inning to secure the win. Liquori went 2-for-4 with an RBIwith the bat and on the mound went 9.0 innings and struck out ten batters with no walks.

Adrian College completed the sweep over The University of Olivet on Saturday afternoon in a home doubleheader. The Bulldog bats came alive as they defeated the Comets 9-1 in game one and 15-1 in game two. The Bulldogs move to 5-1 in MIAA conference play. Joe Casale, Easton Rogers, and Nic Bruder had a multi-hit game for Adrian. Daniel Gutierrez earned his third win of the season throwing 6.2 innings allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts. In game two, Adrian batted around in the second and the rout was on. Lincoln Lipinski picked up his second win of the season allowing one run on one hit with six strikeouts.

Centenary (La.) swept a doubleheader on Saturday over the Southwestern University Pirates by scores of 12-9 and 11-5 to complete a three-game series weekend sweep in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at Shehee Stadium. The Diamond Gents (14-10, 9-2 SCAC) recorded a 5-1 victory on Friday night in the series opener and have won nine of 11 games. The Pirates fell to 15-14 and 6-6 in league play with Saturday's losses. Centenary is an impressive 52-16 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season and improved to 6-1 at home this season.

Catholic got back on track with a doubleheader sweep, 11-0 and 5-2, of Drew on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals improved to 15-7 on the season and 7-4 in Landmark Conference play. Catholic scored nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings on its way to an 11-0 defeat of Drew in game one of Saturday's twin bill. The Cardinals put runners on base early and often, totaling 10 hits and six walks in the victory. The pitching continued to dominate for Catholic in game two as Danny Fitzgerald and Cormac Terry combined to allow just five hits while striking out 10. Fitzgerald earned the win, allowing just one run in 5.0 innings while Terry nabbed a 4.0 inning save, surpassing 100 career strikeouts as he punched out five while allowing just one hit.

Adam Mieczkowski tied the game with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh and singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Cortland defeated Brockport, 5-4, in the first of a three-game SUNYAC series at Wallace Field. Cortland (13-8-1, 7-0 SUNYAC) won its seventh straight game. The Red Dragons and the Golden Eagles (13-5, 3-1 SUNYAC) will play a doubleheader at Cortland Sunday at noon. Cortland's winning rally started when Dylan Mackenzie was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Pinch runner Luke Schartner moved to second on a wild pitch and pinch hitter Danny Jackson was intentionally walked after working a 3-0 count. Mieczkowski lined a 2-2 pitch to left for a single to bring home Schartner.

Gettysburg nabbed two come-from-behind victories to sweep Muhlenberg. A game one pitcher's duel saw the Bullets win 6-2, and Gettysburg grabbed a walkoff victory in game two, 4-5. Alexander Wilkie-Viscio picked up the win in game one with a career-high seven strikeouts over 7.0 innings of work. David Preziuso led the Bullets offensively with four hits, four runs, two walks, and two stolen bases. Tyler Lizell got his first win of the season as the relief pitcher in game two.

Sophomore Greer Farr had three hits, including a three-run home run, along with five RBIs, and junior Grayson Harris collected five hits, as Hampden-Sydney College split an Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader on the road at Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. Sophomore Jacob Miller-Bopp gained the pitching win in the 12-3 nightcap for the visiting Tigers (11-14, 5-10), while classmate Jake Williams took the pitching setback in the 8-5 opener against the host Royals (8-16, 5-8).

After falling in game one 7-5, No. 25 Arcadia University broke out the bats in a 10-0 game two win over Stevens to split its Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom doubleheader at Skip Wilson Field on Saturday afternoon. In game one, Stevens took a 7-4 lead with four runs in the second and three in the third. The Knights pushed a final run across in the fifth but were unable to knot the score. In the nighcap, The Knights got on the board in the bottom of the first on run-scoring at-bats from Anthony Bruno and Matthew Sot. Eli Savitt singled in the second to bring home Gabe Diaz, followed by a steal of third and a run-scoring wild pitch to give Arcadia a 4-0 lead. Sot brought home Matt Donchez in the third while Solomon Griffith expanded the lead to 7-0 with a two-run double in the fifth. Kevin Wheeler and Diaz had RBI's in the sixth and seventh to finish the scoring. Hunter Curley improved to 3-1, allowing two hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts.

In a display eerily similar to his 2023 outing against them, Jacob Ray dominated Washington and Lee University, throwing six innings of shutout baseball for Guilford College, leading them to an 8-4 game two victory following a 9-3 game one defeat in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play at Cap'n Dick Smith Field on Saturday afternoon. In what is shaping up as a pivotal pair of contests ahead of the season's three-quarters mark on Tuesday, the Quakers' split advances them to 12-17, 5-8 in ODAC play, maintaining their eighth-place standing in the conference. On the other side, the Generals hold serve at .500 overall with a 13-13 mark including 7-9 against conference competition.

No. 3 nationally-ranked Denison University traveled to nearby Kenyon College on Saturday and was shutout through seven innings in game one before scoring twice in the top of the eighth to tie it and pushing across the winning run with a walk in the top of the ninth to earn a 3-2 victory. Then in game two, the Big Red scored seven runs in the first two innings and won 10-2 to improve to 21-2 overall and 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Kenyon threated to add to its lead in game one after loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh, but Ryan Starr was able to get back-to-back swinging strikeouts followed by a fielder's choice to shortstop to get out of the jam and keep it at a two-run game. That left the door open for Denison, which started off the top of the eighth inning with back-to-back walks by Jake Blozy and Jack Lutte. A single to left field by Eric Colaco loaded the bases and set the stage for an RBI-groundout to shortstop by Jake Welsch and a sacrifice fly to right field by Cade Nowik to tie it. In the bottom of the eighth, Kenyon loaded the bases with two outs, but George Viebrock (3-0) was able to get out of it thanks to a diving catch in left field by Colaco. With two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth, Blozy again started the rally for the Big Red with a single to right field before stealing second base. That led to intentional walks to both Colin Ravin and Colaco to load the bases for Welsch, who drew a five-pitch walk against Noah Rosenberg to score his second RBI of the day and give Denison its first lead of the day. It was also Blozy's second run scored during game one. Facing the 2-3-4 portion of the Kenyon lineup in the bottom of the ninth, Viebrock got a strikeout and back-to-back flyouts to end it.