Baseball Splits Saturday Twinbill with Saint Joseph’s, Claims 8-7 Walk-Off Win in Game One

WEYMOUTH, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team traded wins with St. Joseph's (Maine) in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday at Libby Field. The Lions captured an 8-7 come-from-behind win in the opening tilt before falling 4-2.

The Lions move to 1-3 on the season with the results while the Monks progress to 2-1 overall.

Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) drove in four RBIs and added one hit and one run on the day. Hunter Leroux-Porter (Greenland, N.H.) registered three base knocks, two RBIs, and a pair of runs scored. Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) posted three hits and scored twice. Max Miednik (Parkland, Fla.) finished with two hits and two runs scored while Jamie Carey (Amherst, Mass.) chipped in with a pair of runs.

In the matinee matchup, Eastern Nazarene rallied from five runs down to score six unanswered runs and walk-off with an 8-7 victory.

The visitors scored one run in the top of the first inning to grab a quick 1-0 lead. Dawson Gundlah crossed the dish on an RBI fielder's choice by Ben Gravel.

The home side responded with a run in the bottom of the frame to level the score at 1-1. Carey scurried home from third on an RBI groundout by Pesce.

St. Joseph's plated a pair in the second to claim a 3-1 advantage. Hunter Richardson lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to drive in Morgan Doughty before Justin Juliano scored on a wild pitch.

Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to 3-2 with a run in the home half of the second. Leroux-Porter tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.).

The Monks manufactured four runs in the third to widen the gap to 7-2. Ronan Chisholm drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Matthew Martinello. Juliano followed with an RBI groundout to knock in Jackson Stanton before Kevin Aylward scored on a wild pitch. Gundlah laced a single to left field to drive in Chisholm from third base.

The Lions tallied three scores in the bottom of the third inning to narrow the margin to 7-5. Pesce roped a two-run double to the gap in right-centerfield to score McNamara and Miednik. Leroux-Porter slapped a two-out double down the left field line to plate Pesce from second base.

The hosts generated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to capture their first win of the spring. Pesce and Mike Griffin (Hudson, N.H.) each drew bases-loaded walks to score Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) and Carey to knot the contest at 7-7. Leroux-Porter delivered the game-winning hit as his base knock to center drove in McNamara for the clinching score.

Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) threw 2.1 innings in his first start of the season and struck out one. Ryan Sharkey (Salisbury, Mass.) hurled 4.2 scoreless innings in his first appearance out of the bullpen and racked up 10 strikeouts while allowing just two hits.

In the nightcap, St. Joseph's earned a 4-2 victory.

Eastern Nazarene snagged a 1-0 edge with a run in the bottom of the third as Miednik scampered home from third base on a wild pitch.

The Monks tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the fourth inning. Luke Johnson singled to right field to drive in Jonathan Dube.

The Lions regained a one-run lead with a score in the home half of the fourth, 2-1. Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) raked a two-out base hit to centerfield to score Leroux-Porter from second base.

The visitors plated two runs in the fifth to seize a 3-2 advantage. Gravel singled to center to knock in Drew Healey and Zach Miles.

St. Joseph's tacked on a run in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. Johnson rolled a base hit to right field to plate Dylan Fournier from second.

Briley Seiter (Bellevue, Ky.) tossed four innings and recorded five strikeouts in his first start of the year. Carey threw three innings of relief in his first pitching appearance of the spring.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will host Bridgewater State March 18 in a non-league clash at Libby Field in Weymouth, Mass.