Baseball Drops Two Decisions to New England College

WINCHESTER, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team suffered a pair of setbacks to New England College Saturday at Ciarcia Field, falling 4-3 and 5-2 in extra-innings.

             
GAME ONE
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 3, New England College 4
Records: Lions (23-7, 5-4 NECC) | Pilgrims (10-18, 1-6 NECC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Eastern Nazarene chalked up three runs in the bottom of the first inning to claim a 3-0 advantage. Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) and Jaime Roldan (Boston, Mass.) each drew bases-loaded walks to knock in Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.). Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) motored home from third base on an RBI groundout by Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.).
• New England College produced three runs in the top of the fifth to level the contest at 3-3.
• The Pilgrims scored the go-ahead run in the sixth to seize a 4-3 edge.
  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Brandon Guerrero (Boston, Mass.) collected two base hits.
• Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) finished with one hit and one RBI.
• Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) added one hit, one run scored, and one stolen base.
• On the mound, Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) pitched six innings and recorded five strikeouts in his eighth start. Rookie David Carey (Greenfield, Mass.) worked one inning and fanned one batter in his fifth relief outing of the season.

GAME TWO
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 2, New England College 5
Records: Lions (23-8, 5-5 NECC) | Pilgrims (11-18, 2-6 NECC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• New England College notched a run in the top of the fourth inning to snag a 1-0 edge.
• Eastern Nazarene answered with a pair of runs in the fifth to capture a 2-1 lead. Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) scampered home from third base on an infield hit by Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.). Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) collected his team-leading 39th hit of the spring to drive in Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
• The Pilgrims generated one run in the sixth inning to pull even at 2-2.
• New England College posted three runs in the top of the eighth to grab a 5-2 advantage as Sylvain Audet blasted a pinch-hit, three-run homer.
  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) and Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.) both notched one hit and one RBI.
• Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) chipped in with one base knock and one stolen base.
• in his seventh start, Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) threw 7.2 innings and surpassed the 200-career strikeout mark as he registered 11 strikeouts on the day. Jon Tessier (Coronado, Calif.) and Dale Beneway (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) each made appearances out of the bullpen.

UP NEXT:
Eastern Nazarene travels to Tufts April 25.