Baseball Bests Southern Vermont, 5-3, in Home-Opener

QUINCY, Mass.- Playing at home for the first time this spring, the Eastern Nazarene baseball team earned a 5-3 victory over Southern Vermont Thursday afternoon at Bradley Field.

The Lions improve to 6-5 on the season with the win while the Mountaineers descend to 5-9 overall.

Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) collected a pair of hits on the day while scoring a run and driving in an RBI. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) recorded two base knocks in the game and crossed the plate twice. Quentin Moore (Sheridan, Calif.), Max Pugh (San Diego, Calif.) and Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) each notched an RBI in the game.

The visitors got on the board in the top of the first inning, scoring once to grab a 1-0 lead. Cody LaBadia laced an RBI single to left to drive in Sal Sciara from third.

Eastern Nazarene leveled the contest at 1-1 in the home half of the second. Yee raked a run-scoring single to left field to plate David Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) from third with no outs.

Southern Vermont reclaimed a one-run advantage in the top of the third, 2-1. Richard Rios scampered home as LaBadia got caught in a run-down between first and second.

The Mountaineers extended their lead to 3-1 as Roland Hernandez blasted a leadoff home run to left-center to start the fourth.

The Lions evened the score at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Yee rounded third and scored from second on a flare single off the bat of Moore. Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) crossed the plate with the tying run as Jeremy Wagner reached base on a fielding error.

The hosts seized their first lead of the game in the sixth inning. Justin Wagner hooked a two-out single down the left field line before stealing second base. Jeremy Wagner followed with an RBI single to centerfield to drive in Justin Wagner for the go-ahead tally.

Eastern Nazarene chalked up a run in the eighth to stretch its advantage to 5-3. After Manning and Anthony Berroa (Teaneck, N.J.) were both issued walks to load the bases, Pugh drew a base on balls to allow Justin Wagner to trot home with an insurance run for the Lions.

Manning pitched five innings in his second start of the season on the hill and struck out four batters.

Eastern Nazarene's bullpen shut the door on the Mountaineers, combining for four shutout innings. Brandon Wells (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) tossed 1.2 innings of relief and fanned two en route to picking up his second win of the year. Frank Fusco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) hurled 1.1 innings and registered three strikeouts. Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) closed out the win with a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the spring.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene resumes league play as it visits Gordon April 5 for a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader.