Baseball Halves Twinbill at SUNY Canton Friday

CANTON, N.Y.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team cruised to a 12-1 win before dropping an 8-3 decision Friday afternoon at SUNY Canton.

GAME ONE
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 12, SUNY Canton 1
Records: Lions (9-18-1, 6-5 NAC) | Roos (2-27, 1-10 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• SUNY Canton tallied a run in the bottom of the second inning to claim a 1-0 edge.
• Eastern Nazarene responded with two runs in the top of the third to seize a 2-1 lead. Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) laced a double to left field to drive in Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) and Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
• The Lions produced six runs in the fifth to widen the margin to 8-1. Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) scorched a single up the middle to score Michael Monteforte (Wilmington, Mass.) from second base. Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) tagged up and scampered home from third on a sacrifice fly by Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.). Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) raked a base knock to centerfield to knock in Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) belted his second home run of the season, a three-run blast to drive in Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.).
• The visitors tacked on three runs in the sixth inning to extend their advantage to 11-1. O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) launched his second homer of the year, a three-run shot to score Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) and Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.).
• Eastern Nazarene added a run in the seventh to push its lead to 12-1. Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) landed a two-out single to plate Matthew Serrata (Ozone Park, N.Y.).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) hurled a complete-game gem on the mound, racking up a career-high 16 strikeouts while scattering just one walk and one run.
• Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) posted four hits, two RBIs, two runs scored, and one stolen base.
• Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) collected three hits, one RBIs, and one run scored.
• O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) finished with three RBIs, one hit, and a pair of runs scored.
• Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) notched two hits and two runs scored.
• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) chipped in with two RBIs, two base knocks, and a run scored.
• Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) added three RBIs, one hit, and one run scored.

GAME TWO
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 3, SUNY Canton 8
Records: Lions (9-19-1, 6-6 NAC) | Roos (3-27, 2-10 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• SUNY Canton chalked up three runs in the bottom of the first inning to capture a 3-0 lead.
• The Roos picked up one run in the third to stretch their advantage to 4-0.
• Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, scoring twice to trim the deficit to 4-2 as Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) and Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) both crossed the dish.
• SUNY Canton answered with four runs in the home half of the frame to extend the gap to 8-2.
• The Lions manufactured a run in the sixth to narrow the margin to 8-3. Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) scurried home as Ruddy Vidal (Barahona, Dominican Republic) reached base on an error.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) notched a pair of hits and scored one run.
• Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) finished with one base hit, one RBI, and a run scored.
• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) added one hit and one RBI.
• Luke Descheneaux (Lowell, Mass.) tossed 4.1 innings and finished with five strikeouts. Liam Bruskewicz (Granite Springs, N.Y.) worked 1.2 innings while allowing no hits and just one walk in his team-leading ninth relief appearance.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene wraps up the weekend series at SUNY Canton April 27.