Baseball Drops Doubleheader to Defiance Monday

FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team endured a pair of losses to Defiance Monday afternoon at the Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Lions slip to 1-3 on the year while the Yellow Jackets improved to 2-0 overall.

Rocco Martinelli (Panama City, Panama) paced Eastern Nazarene offensively with three hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) collected three hits and scored twice. Brandon Wynne (New Haven, Conn.) landed two base knocks, crossed the plate twice and drove in one run.

Jose Arebalo (Brentwood, Calif.) and Kurt Picarelli (Montrose, N.Y.) each finished with two hits and one RBI. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) both recorded a pair of RBIs while picking up a base hit on the day.

In game one, Defiance scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to claim a 3-0 lead. Ryan Kohlhofer tagged up and scored from third base on a sacrifice fly by Gary Levengood. Chris Donese and Ben Weber both came around to cross the dish as Quinten Harrington reached on an error.

The Yellow Jackets tacked on a run to widen the gap to 4-0 in the second as Zack Reed motored home on a wild pitch.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the top of the third frame, trimming the deficit to 4-2. Justin Wagner touched the plate as Arebalo grounded out to the shortstop and Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored as Yee reached base on an error.

Defiance added four scores in the home half of the third to move ahead 8-2. Ian Burkhart, Harrington and Reed all land RBI base hits in the inning.

The Lions responded with a run in the fourth inning to cut the margin to 8-3. After Martinelli led off the inning with a double to left-center, Justin Wagner drove him in with a single back up the middle.

The Yellow Jackets chalked up one run in the fourth to extend their advantage to 9-3. Levengood rolled a grounder down the first base line to plate Donese.

Defiance scored once in the fifth as Reed doubled down the left field line to drive in Burkhart from second base for the team's 10th run of the contest.

Eastern Nazarene narrowed the margin to 10-4 as it pushed across one run in the sixth. Martinelli tagged up and scootered home on a sacrifice fly by Justin Wagner.

The Yellow Jackets reestablished a seven-run lead with a score in the bottom of the frame. Burkhart singled to plate Levengood from third.

Fiorentino hurled three innings in his first start of the spring and struck out one batsman. Rob Dukes (Spencer, Mass.) tossed two innings of relief action and Bobby Barber (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) pitched one frame as both right-handers made their second appearances of the season.

In the second tilt of the doubleheader, Defiance jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Donese scampered home on a groundout by Levengood to open the scoring.

Eastern Nazarene answered with three scores in the home half of the first frame to capture a 3-1 edge. After Fiorentino led off the inning with a single and Yee absorbed a hit-by-pitch, Wynne raked a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Fiorentino from second. Yee and Wynne both zipped around the bases and scored as Martinelli picked up two RBIs with a triple to right field.

The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit in half in the second inning, 3-2. Matt Staels crossed the dish on a groundout by Joel Musser.

The Lions exploded for a five-run outburst in the bottom of the second to increase their lead to 8-2. John Oglesby (Hartsville, Tenn.) led off the inning with a single to ignite the Eastern Nazarene offense and motored home on a knock down the right field line by Riley Sullivan (Los Angeles, Calif.). With two runners in scoring position, Yee singled to drive in Fiorentino and Miguel Ortiz (New Britain, Conn.). Picarelli and Jesus Rivera (Homestead, Fla.) followed with RBI base hits as Yee and Wynne both trodded across the dish.

Defiance responded with four runs in the top of the third to shrink the margin to 8-6 before leveling the game at 8-8 with a pair of scores in the fourth inning.

The Yellow Jackets rallied in the fifth to grab a three-run advantage, 11-8, and tacked on three more in the seventh to expand their lead to six, 14-8.

Senior Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) pitched four and one-third innings in his first start of the spring and first start since opening day of the 2014 season March 8. English fanned three batters while allowing seven hits and four earned runs. Rookie Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) made his collegiate pitching debut, throwing one and two-thirds innings and striking out one. Will Medina (Milton, Mass.) and Barber combined to work the final inning.

Up next, the Lions will play a pair of nine-inning games March 10. Eastern Nazarene will travel to Brandenton in the morning to square off against Emerson at McKechnie Field, the spring training park of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the nightcap, the Lions will return to Fort Myers to take on Rockford under the lights of Terry Park.