Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday afternoon, the St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Gallaudet University as Gallaudet (8-15) claimed the first game, 6-3, before the Seahawks (16-12) rebounded with a 7-5 victory in the nightcap.
Gallaudet's first game victory was the first for the Bison against St. Mary's since March 29 1997 as 14 years ago, Gallaudet split the doubleheader with a 4-1 win in the first game as well. The Seahawks had won the previous 37 games in a row.
First-year centerfielder William Bissell (Brewer, Maine/Brewer) paced the Bison in the win with a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the plate, including an RBI double in the first to give Gallaudet a 1-0 lead and a solo home run in the fifth to put the Bison ahead, 6-1.
At the plate for the Seahawks in Game 1, senior first baseman Ian Simpson-Shelton (Upper Marlboro, Md./DeMatha), junior third baseman Keith Johnson (Great Mills, Md./Great Mills), and sophomore catcher Stefano Muscatelli (Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) all led the offense with two hits each, including Johnson's seventh double of the season.
Senior RHP Mikel Iraola (Kensington, Md./DeMatha) was saddled with the loss as Iraola dropped to 0-2 on the season despite four strikeouts and just one walk in 4.0 innings. He allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits.
St. Mary's regrouped in the night cap and jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead as Johnson cracked a one-out, three-run homer to right field. It was Johnson's club-leading second home run of the season. Gallaudet's first-year starter Tyler Crace (Westfield, Ind./Indiana School f/t Deaf) then proceeded to throw a ground out and fly out to end the inning without further damage.
The Bison responded with two runs in their half of the first inning to cut the deficit to one. St. Mary's claimed a two-run lead in the third as senior centerfielder Bobby Corton (Owings Mills, Md./Calvert Hall) came home on a Bison fielding error after reaching on a hit by pitch as the leadoff hitter.
St. Mary's garnered a 5-2 advantage in the fourth as Corton drove home Simpson-Shelton with a single to centerfield. Simpson-Shelton had drawn a leadoff walk to reach base. The Seahawks then stretched their lead to 7-2 in the fifth behind junior designated hitter Nick Urso's (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) two-run single up the middle with one out.
Gallaudet rallied in the seventh as the Bison scored three to pull within two runs. Gallaudet loaded the bases with a leadoff single and back-to-back walks before three wild pitches by junior reliever Stephon Dingle (Baltimore, Md./Mount Carmel) led to all three runs. Sophomore Alex Cole (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) relieved Dingle then hit his first batter faced before getting Bissell to strike out swinging.
Corton was perfect for the Seahawks at the plate in the nightcap with a 3-for-3 effort while scoring two runs. Johnson also scored two runs for his squad. Sophomore RHP Carlos Cruz (Lexington Park, Md./Great Mills) notched his third win of the season as Cruz struck out a season-high seven batters while walking just two in 6.1 innings. He allowed four runs (all earned) on seven hits.
St. Mary's will return to action this Saturday, April 2 as the Seahawks travel back to Washington, D.C. for a non-conference doubleheader at Catholic University at noon.