Baseball Drops Two-Game Set at Elms

HOLYOKE, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team endured a pair of losses at Elms Thursday, falling 3-2 and 7-6 in extras.

The Lions sink to 16-14 on the season and 5-5 in the New England Collegiate Conference with the results. The Blazers improve to 9-18 overall and 6-4 in league play with the wins.

James Coury (Milford, Conn.) racked up three hits and three RBIs in the series. Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) posted two base knocks and two runs scored. Matthew Urena (Flushing, N.Y.) chipped in with two hits and one RBI. Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) registered one hit, two RBIs, and one run scored. Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) finished with three stolen bases, one hit, and one run.

In the matinee contest, Eastern Nazarene suffered a narrow 3-2 setback to Elms.

The visitors grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Coury roped a two-out single to drive in Louviaux from second base.

The home side knotted the game at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the frame. Cameron Griffin landed an RBI single to knock in Camden Hart.

The Lions reclaimed a one-run edge in the fourth, 2-1. Louviaux tagged up and scampered home as Coury lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

The Blazers scored twice in the sixth to jump ahead 3-2. Josh Nohilly laced a single to plate Thomas Slane and Andrew Serio.

Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) hurled 5.2 innings in his seventh start and posted five strikeouts. Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) fanned the only batter he faced in his 10th relief appearance.

In game two, the Blazers clipped the Lions 7-6 in nine innings.

Eastern Nazarene exploded for five runs in the top of the first inning to construct a 5-0 advantage. Anthony Esposito (Mount Royal, N.J.) and Simpson both crossed the dish as Carmody reached on an error. Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) scurried home from third before Carmody scored as Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.) reached on an error. Urena raked a two-out base knock to drive in Bombard from third base.

Elms tallied three runs in the home half of the first to cut the deficit to 5-3. Kevin Banas drew a bases-loaded walk to knock in Josh Pasini. Nohilly followed with a double to plate Josh Berthiaume and Slane.

The Blazers pulled even at 5-5 with a pair of runs in the second frame. Pasini and Nathan Ayala collected back-to-back RBIs as Griffin and Alex Hoss scored.

The Lions regained the lead with a run in the top of the fourth, 6-5. Coury picked up his third RBI of the day with a groundout that drove in Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) from third.

The hosts leveled the game at 6-6 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Pasini smacked a double to knock in Griffin.

Elms clinched its fifth-consecutive victory after scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Ayala roped a walk-off double to drive in Hoss from second base.

Brenndan Rogers (Hanson, Mass.) tossed 3.2 innings and finished with two strikeouts in his seventh start of the year. Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) worked 4.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts in his fourth game out of the bullpen.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host Becker April 19.