Baseball Closes Out Conference Slate with Two Losses to Nichols

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team suffered a pair of setbacks to Nichols in the final league doubleheader of the season Monday afternoon at Bradley Field, falling 12-5 and 5-3.

The Lions sink to 13-22 on the year and 2-14 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the results. The Bison improve to 8-19-1 overall and 4-11-1 in conference play with the wins.

Jose Arebalo (Brentwood, Calif.) collected a team-high three hits on the afternoon while scoring once and driving in one RBI. Jesus Rivera (Homestead, Fla.) posted two RBIs, two base knocks and one run scored in game two. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with two hits, one RBI and one run scored while Brandon Wynne (New Haven, Conn.) and Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) each recorded one hit, one RBI and a run scored.

Nichols tallied runs in all seven innings en route to a 12-5 victory in the series opener.

Nichols grabbed a 1-0 edge in the top of the first inning. Nick Osma walked with the bases full to plate Nick Roy from third.

Eastern Nazarene evened the score at 1-1 in the home half of the first. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) trotted home as Arebalo drew a bases-loaded walk.

The guests scored twice in the second frame to claim a 3-1 advantage. Tim Ford belted a pinch-hit home run to right and Brendan Martin crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Benjamin Harrow.

The Bison tacked on two runs in the third to widen the gap to 5-1. Martin singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Osma before Roy worked a bases-loaded walk to plate Mike Piekarczyk.

Nichols added a pair of runs in the fourth to extend its lead to 7-1. Spencer Madden tagged up and scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Matt Hardy and Ford doubled down the left field line to score Osma.

The Lions knocked in a run in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 7-2. Justin Wagner drove in Wynne from third as he reached base on a fielder's choice.

The Bison regained a six-run lead, 8-2, with a run in the top of the fifth as Madden doubled to left to plate Harrow from second base.

Eastern Nazarene responded in the bottom of the frame, plating one run to pull to within five, 8-3. Miguel Ortiz (New Britain, Conn.) crossed the dish as Yee reached base on a fielder's choice.

The visitors scored twice in the sixth to claim a 10-3 edge as Hardy and Piekarczyk each touched the plate in the inning.

The home side tallied one run in the sixth to narrow the margin to 10-4. Justin Wagner motored home from second as Luis Gonzalez (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) stroked a long fly ball to left-centerfield that hit the top of the fence and stayed in the yard.

Nichols manufactured two runs in the seventh to expand its advantage to 12-4. With the bases full, Hardy absorbed a hit-by-pitch and Ford followed with a walk.

The Lions got a run back in the bottom of the inning to cap the scoring at 12-5. Wynne flared a two-out single down the line in right field to drive in Rocco Martinelli (Panama City, Panama).

Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) threw 1.1 innings and recorded one strikeout before departing with an injury. Rob Dukes (Spencer, Mass.) hurled 4.2 innings in his team-leading 13th appearance and fanned two batters. Joe Cardaropoli (Agawam, Mass.) worked the final inning and allowed no hits.

In the nightcap, the Bison edged the Lions 5-3

Nichols established a 4-0 lead with four runs in the top of the second inning. Martin doubled down the right field line to score Ross Caswell and Hardy. Roy followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Cam Cook and Harrow doubled into center to knock in Martin.

Eastern Nazarene produced three runs in the bottom of the frame to slice the deficit to 4-3. With two runners in scoring position, Rivera hooked a double down the right field line to drive in Arebalo and Yee. Rivera rounded third and crossed the dish on a two-out single to right-centerfield off the bat of Riley Sullivan (Los Angeles, Calif.).

The Bison doubled its advantage to 5-3 with an insurance run in the fifth as Hardy dropped a single into centerfield to plate Osma.

Wynne pitched five innings in his fourth start of the season on the mound and struck out three batters. Frank Fusco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) tossed two scoreless innings and racked up four strikeouts in his fourth relief outing of the spring.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the 2015 campaign at home with a non-league twinbill against Lesley April 30.