Baseball Drops Doubleheader to Bethany (W.V.) Saturday
FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball suffered a pair of setbacks to Bethany (W.V.) Saturday afternoon, falling 5-3 before dropping game two 12-11in extra-innings.
The Lions slip to 3-4 on the year while the Bison improve to 2-2 overall.
Andrew Santora (Middle Village, N.Y.) paced Eastern Nazarene with four base hits, three runs scored, and one RBI in the twinbill. Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) posted four hits, a pair of runs, and one RBI on the day. Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) finished with four RBIs, three base knocks, and two runs scored. Nick Story (Gilbert, Ariz.) chipped in with three runs and one RBI while also crossing the plate once.
In the first game of the series, Eastern Nazarene fell behind early and was unable to claw back as Bethany earned its first win of the season.
Bethany produced one run in the top of the first to claim an early 1-0 edge. Jake Stemmerich doubled to center to drive in Neil Woods from third.
The Bison chalked up four runs in the third to widen the gap to 5-0. Woods doubled to right to plate Kelaen Welch. Stemmerich picked up his second RBI of the contest as his groundout allowed Brandon Wagner to cross the dish. Tyler Frazee followed with an RBI single to right to score Woods. Tyler Alworth rolled a single to left field to knock in Frazee from second base.
Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the home half of the sixth inning. Carmody tagged up and scootered home from third after Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Lions cut the deficit to 5-3 with a pair of scores in the bottom of the seventh. After Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) scurried home from third on a wild pitch, Simpson laced a two-out single to right to drive in Santora from second base.
Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) pitched a complete game in his second start of the season and fanned three batters.
In game two of the doubleheader, Bethany scored twice in the eighth inning to walk-off with a 12-11 victory.
Bethany jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Wagner scored on a double off the bat of Woods. Woods rounded third and motored home as Frazee poked a two-out single to left.
Eastern Nazarene leveled the score at 2-2 in the top of the third. With runners on first and second base, Carmody collected his team-leading eighth and ninth RBIs of the season as he roped a double to centerfield to drive in Santora and Simpson.
The Lions rattled off seven-consecutive base hits and erupted for eight runs in the fourth to seize a 10-2 edge. James Coury (Milford, Conn.) laced a single to center to plate Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.). Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) followed with a two-run double to left to score Story and Coury. Santora flared a single to center to knock in Fiorentino from third base. Carmody raked a double to left to tally his third and fourth RBIs of the game and increase his team-leading total to 11 as Santora and Simpson both crossed the dish. Louviaux landed his second single of the inning and drove in Carmody from second. Story followed with an RBI single to right to score Louviaux.
The Bison trimmed the margin to 10-7 with five runs in the fifth as Ryan Nickerson, Zach Schlotter, Alworth and Stemmerich all registered RBI base knocks in the frame.
Bethany scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to pull even at 10-10. Frazee slapped an RBI double between sacrifice fly balls by Stemmerich and Nickerson.
Eastern Nazarene reclaimed the lead with a run in the eighth, 11-10. Pesce landed a single in right to drive in Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) for the go-ahead run.
The Bison plated two runs in the home half of the eighth to walk off with their second victory of the day, 12-11. Nickerson knocked in Stemmerich to tie the game at 11-11 before Saige Micomonaco delivered the game-winning hit with a single to score Frazee.
Ragan Cole (Alamogordo, N.M.) threw 4.2 innings and posted one strikeout as he made his second start on the mound this spring. Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) worked just one-third of an inning of relief in his team-leading third appearance. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) hurled two frames in his third outing of the season and fanned a pair. Haberstumpf worked the final inning in his second appearance.
Up next, Eastern Nazarene finishes off its trip to the Sunshine State March 13 with a nine-inning bout against Gettysburg.