Strong Pitching Efforts Lead Baseball to Series Sweep of Lyndon State

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team collected a pair of victories over Lyndon State in non-league action Saturday afternoon at Adams Field.

The Lions blanked the Hornets 4-0 in game one before earning a 3-1 win in the nightcap.

Eastern Nazarene improves to 7-6 on the season with the results while Lyndon State sinks to 3-9 overall.

Zach Zaino (Bourne, Mass.) paced the home side offensively with three hits on the day while adding an RBI and a run scored. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) swiped three bases while landed two hits, scoring twice and driving in one RBI. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) notched two base knocks in the doubleheader and Anthony Esposito (Mount Royal, N.J.) registered a hit and one RBI.

Eastern Nazarene snagged a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) scurried home on a wild pitch.

The Lions added three runs in the home half of the fifth to widen the margin to 4-0. Kurt Picarelli (Montrose, N.Y.) dashed home as Justin Wagner pushed a squeeze bunt down the third base line. Joe Commesso (Marshfield, Mass.) followed with a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Zaino from third. Justin Wagner crossed the dish as Fiorentino tapped a grounder to the right side of the infield.

Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) pitched his fifth career complete game to improve to 3-0 on the year, finishing with three strikeouts in seven innings of action.

In game two, the hosts knocked in a run in the bottom of the first to establish an early 1-0 advantage. Esposito flared a base knock into shallow left field to score Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) from third base.

Eastern Nazarene added a run to increase its lead to 2-0 in the second frame. Justin Wagner motored home as Nick Story (Gilbert, Ariz.) advanced to second on a failed pick-off attempt.

Lyndon State cut the deficit in half with a score in the top of the fourth, 2-1. Ryan Cordeiro laced a single into left to plate Aaron Catalani for the visitors' first run of the day.

The Lions responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim a two-run lead, 3-1. Zaino roped a double to straight-away centerfield to drive in Brandon Wynne (West Haven, Conn.).

Fiorentino tossed six innings in his third start of the spring and racked up five strikeouts. Story made his third relief appearance of the season, slamming the door in the seventh inning to pick up his first save.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns to the diamond March 23 as it battles Anna Maria at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Massachusetts.