Baseball Sweeps Non-League Foe Newbury, 8-0 & 3-1

QUINCY, Mass. – The Eastern Nazarene baseball team captured a pair of non-conference wins Tuesday afternoon at Adams Field, topping Newbury 8-0 and 3-1. The Lions improve to 9-15 on the season and snap a four-game skid with the wins. The Nighthawks flutter to 6-18 overall as they absorb their fifth and sixth straight losses.

Anthony Berroa (Teaneck, N.J.), David Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) and E.J. Estrada (Alpharetta, Ga.) all produced three hits and two RBIs in the doubleheader for the hosts. Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) collected two base knocks and scored twice while Michael Chiaradio Jr. (Teaneck, N.J.) recorded two hits and drove in a pair of RBIs.

The home side pounced on a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of game one. Chiaradio raked a single up the middle to score Estrada and Koch.

Eastern Nazarene tacked on a run in the fourth to grab a 3-0 edge. Berroa lofted a fly-ball to center to allow Jeremy Wagner to tag up and cross the plate.

The Lions added a pair of scores in the fifth to stretch their lead to 5-0. After Max Pugh (San Diego, Calif.) laced a one-out single to left-center, Koch blasted his second home run of the season over the left field fence.

Eastern Nazarene extended its advantage to 8-0 with three runs in the sixth. Manning drove in Berroa from second with an RBI double to right-center. Estrada closed out the scoring with a two-run single to left field to plate Pugh and Manning.

Matt Jayne (Quincy, Mass.) tossed four scorelees innings and struck out a pair in his fourth start of the season. Nathan Russell (San Diego, Calif.) pitched two innings and Matt Jordon (Pleasantville, N.Y.) hurled one to shut the door.

In the nightcap, Newbury snagged a 1-0 edge in the top of the first inning. Michael Dwyer trotted home with the Nighthawks' first run of the day as Ryan Sinclair singled to left with two away.

The Lions responded with an equalizer in the home half of the frame. Rocco Martinelli (Panama City, Panama) drew a lead-off walk and came around to score on a groundout by Manning.

The hosts scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. Jeremy Wagner led off the inning with a double to the gap in right-center. After moving to third, Wagner motored home on a squeeze bunt by Martinelli.

Eastern Nazarene tallied an insurance run in the fifth to widen the gap to 3-1. Ryan Garza (Elsa, Texas) drew a one-out walk and Berroa followed with his second triple of the contest to drive in Garza from third.

Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) pitched three innings in his first start of the spring. He surrendered one unearned run and two hits while fanning two batters. Reese Richmond (Villa Rica, Ga.) worked two innings in his seventh relief outing of the year. Pugh kept the visitors at bay as he retired the Nighthawks in order in his three pitching appearance. Jamie Dominick (Taunton, Mass.) picked up his second save of the season, sealing the victory with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Up next, the Lions open up a five-game road swing with a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader at Curry April 12.