Baseball Closes Out Non-League Slate with 7-3 Loss to Newbury

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene baseball team dropped a 7-3 decision to Newbury in the final non-conference bout of the season.

The Lions fall to 12-16 on the year with the result while the Nighthawks improve to 11-18 overall.

Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) paced Eastern Nazarene with two runs scored, two hits and one RBI. Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) chipped in with a base knock and a run scored while Kurt Picarelli (Montrose, N.Y.) drove in one RBI in the contest.

Newbury scored twice in the top of the first inning to claim a 2-0 edge. David Dubay singled to left field to score Steven Broy from second base to open the scoring. Dubay came around to cross the plate on a single up the middle by Michael Dwyer.

The Nighthawks tacked on a run in the second to extend their lead to 3-0. Ian Hruniak picked up an RBI on an infield base hit as C.J. Ingraham touched the dish.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the home half of the second to cut the deficit to 3-1. Justin Wagner scooted home as Quentin Moore (Sheridan, Calif.) reached on a flare single down the right field line.

The Lions pulled to within one in the bottom of the third, 3-2. With the bases loaded, Justin Wagner worked a two-out walk and Yee trotted home from third.

The visitors restored their lead to two runs in the top of the fifth, plating one run. Cameron D'Agostino landed an RBI single inside the right field line to drive in Dwyer from second with two away.

Newbury added a pair of scores in the sixth to widen the gap to 6-2. Dubay plated Broy and Hruniak from first and second as he sliced a two-out double to deep right field.

Eastern Nazarene narrowed the margin to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Wagner tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly by Picarelli to right.

The Nighthawks capped off the scoring with one run in the eighth as Broy drove in Patrick Argentina with a single to left.

Brandon Wells (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) threw six innings and fanned three batters in his sixth start of the spring.

Nick Penkala (Nashua, N.H.) struck out two batters in two and two-thirds innings of relief action. Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) recorded the final out of the ninth inning in his team-leading 12th appearance of the season.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the 2014 campaign with a conference doubleheader against Curry at Adams Field. The team will honor its six-member senior class prior to the first pitch.