Baseball Overpowers Maine-Presque Isle in Doubleheader Sweep

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team rolled past the University of Maine-Presque Isle 7-0 and 9-4 in a non-conference twinbill Saturday afternoon at Adams Field.

The Lions improve to 10-13 on the season with the two triumphs while the Owls flutter to 3-24 overall.

Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) finished with five hits, four runs scored, a pair of RBIs, and one stolen base on the day. Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) racked up five base knocks, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) tallied three hits, three RBIs, and crossed the dish three runs. Matthew Urena (Flushing, N.Y.) posted three base hits, three RBIs, and one run scored. Andrew Santora (Middle Village, N.Y.) chipped in with three hits, two runs scored, and one RBI.

In the opening tilt, Eastern Nazarene registered 11 hits while limiting Maine-Presque Isle to just three base knocks to earn its first shutout-victory of the 2017 campaign.

The hosts pushed across one run in the bottom of the first to grab a 1-0 lead. Pesce scurried home on a groundout by Santora.

The Lions chalked up three runs to widen the gap to 4-0 in the second inning. Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.) scorched a single to right to drive in Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.). Simpson roped a triple to the gap in right-center to plate Bombard before scoring on a double to centerfield off the bat of Pesce.

Eastern Nazarene scored twice in the fourth to extend its advantage to 6-0. Simpson raked his second triple of the contest to knock in Zach Zaino (Falmouth, Mass.) from second base. Pesce followed with a sacrifice fly to center and Simpson crossed the dish for the 20th time on the year.

The home side tacked on a run in the fifth to increase its lead to 7-0. Zaino hoisted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Nick Story (Gilbert, Ariz.) and pick up his fourth RBI of the season.

Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) pitched his team-leading second complete game of the spring in his fifth start of the year on the hill. The senior surrendered just three hits and finished with fanned seven on the day to reach 101 career strikeouts.

In game two, the home team extended its winning-streak to five games with a 9-4 win to cap off the sweep.

Eastern Nazarene established a 4-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the first frame. Simpson scored his team-best 23rd run of the spring on a base knock to right by Pesce. Santora and Pesce both crossed the dish as Haberstumpf landed a single inside the right-field line. Haberstumpf bolted home as Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) reached on a fielder's choice.

The Owls got on the board in the top of the second inning, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Jacob Powell singled to deep left field to drive in Martin Egan from second base.

Maine-Presque Isle trimmed the gap to 4-3 with a pair of runs in the third. Will Stinson tagged up and motored home from third on a sacrifice fly by Soloman Fast. Bradley Patterson followed with an RBI single to drive in Matt Curry.

The visitors leveled the contest at 4-4 in the fifth as Egan scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Patterson.

The hosts reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, manufacturing five runs to take a 9-4 advantage. After Haberstumpf drew a bases-loaded walk, Urena raked a bases-clearing double to the fence in left field. Bombard laced a single to right to plate Urena from third to collect his second RBI on the afternoon.

Ragan Cole (Alamogordo, N.M.) tossed five innings and struck out four in his fourth start of the season and team-leading eighth appearance on the mound. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) worked two scoreless innings and notched two strikeouts in his sixth relief outing of the year.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road to take on Dean for the first time in program history April 19.