Baseball Drops League-Opener at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I.- Taking the field for the first time since March 7 in Florida, the Eastern Nazarene baseball team suffered a pair of losses on the road at Salve Regina Saturday afternoon in the first CCC doubleheader of the 2012-13 campaign.

The Lions dip to 2-8 on the spring and 0-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Seahawks improved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in league play with wins of 23-8 and 12-6.

David Manning (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) paced the visitors offensively with four hits and four RBIs. Ryan Garza (Elsa, Texas) chipped in with three doubles and three runs batted in. Anthony Berroa (Teaneck, N.J.) collected four hits while driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice.

Michael Chiaradio Jr. (Teaneck, N.J.) added two base knocks and a pair of runs scored in the two-game set. Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) notched two RBIs on the day while E.J. Estrada (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Brad Hampton (South Daytona, Fla.) each crossed the plate twice.

Salve Regina erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning of game one to grab a 10-0 advantage. The hosts' first three runs of the frame trotted home on bases-loaded walks drawn by Dominic Di Sano, Joe Haley and Nicholas Dell'Anno.

The Seahawks tacked on six runs in the second as Matt Conroy, Di Sano and Haley all collected RBI hits.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the top of the third, tallying a pair of runs. Hampton scampered home as Chiaradio advanced to third on a pair of throwing errors. Jake Koch (Dayton, Nev.) plated Chiaradio from third with a two-out double to right-center.

The home side matched the Lions in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice after the first two batters struck out.

The visitors bounced back to push a pair of runner across the plate in the fourth. Estrada laced a lead-off double to right-center and Manning followed with a double to center to drive in his first RBI of the afternoon. With runners on the corners and no outs, Jeremy Wagner grounded into a double play which allowed Manning to score from third.

After Salve Regina tallied two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth, the Lions strung together four runs in the seventh. Hampton crossed the plate on a single by Berroa with one away. Garza drove in Berroa from second base with a line-drive double down the line in right. 

With two runners in scoring position, Manning doubled through the right side of the infield to notch his second and third RBIs of the game.

Berroa made his second start of the season on the mound and absorbed his first loss. Spyro Varetimos (North Attleboro, Mass.), Matt Jordon (Pleasantville, N.Y.), Doug English (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Jamie Dominick (Taunton, Mass.) all made relief pitching appearances for the Lions.

In the nightcap, Eastern Nazarene struck for four runs in the opening frame to seize a 4-0 edge. Max Pugh (San Diego, Calif.), Berroa, Garza and Jeremy Wagner all drove in runs for the visitors in the inning.

The Seahawks cut the deficit to three, 4-1, with a run in the home half of the first. Di Sano's sacrifice fly allowed Ryan Kelly to tag up and score from third.

Salve Regina claimed a 9-4 lead with an eight-run outburst on five hits in the second inning. The hosts added a pair of runs in the third as Ryan Sweenor blasted a two-run homer.

The Lions tallied a run in the fifth to narrow the margin to 11-5. Garza landed a double to lead off the inning and moved to third on a wild pitch. Manning singled home Garza with no outs in the frame as he collected his fourth base knock of the day.

The Seahawks tacked on their final run of the contest in the sixth to extend their advantage to 12-5.

Eastern Nazarene plated a run in the seventh as Pugh scooted home on a groundout by Garza.

Making his third start of the season, Brandon Wells (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) fanned one batter in 1.2 innings of work on the hill. Hampton tossed 4.1 innings in his third appearance of the spring and racked up four strikeouts.

Up next, the Lions will look to snap a six-game skid as they host Emerson March 26 in a non-conference twinbill.