Baseball Suffers 12-3 Loss, Ties 2-2 at Dean in Midweek Doubleheader

FRANKLIN, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team dropped a 12-3 decision and earned a 2-2 draw in eight-innings at Dean Wednesday in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.

The Lions move to 10-14-1 on the season with the results while the Bulldogs improve to 13-13-1 overall.

Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) finished with a team-high five hits to go with two runs scored, one RBI, and one stolen base. Andrew Santora (Middle Village, N.Y.) registered four base knocks, one run scored, and a stolen base on the day. Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in with two hits and a stolen base while Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) drove in a pair of RBIs.

In game one, the home side rolled to a 12-3 victory after racking up 18 base hits.

Eastern Nazarene tallied one run in the top of the first inning to grab a 1-0 edge. Pesce motored home from second base as Haberstumpf reached on an error.

Dean responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to capture a 2-1 lead. Conor Callery doubled to drive in Ivan Vazquez and Christopher Wood.

The Bulldogs produced three runs in the second to widen the gap to 5-1. Wood, Vazquez, and Callery all notched RBIs in the frame for the home team.

The Lions cut the deficit to 5-2 with a run in the third inning as Pesce clobbered his first collegiate home run, a solo shot to pick up his team-leading 19th RBI of the season.

The hosts tacked on two runs in the fourth to extend their advantage to 7-2. Daniel Blazejewski doubled to plate Kyle Priest and Wood.

Dean added five runs in the sixth inning to increase its lead to 12-2. After Vazquez belted a two-run homer, Mitch Leblanc doubled to score Blazejewski from second. Timothy Lombardi followed with an RBI double to drive in Leblanc. Tristan Spiller landed an RBI double to knock in Lombardi.

The visitors pushed across one run in the top of the seventh to trim the margin to 12-3. John Greenlee (San Marcos, Calif.) scampered home from third base on a wild pitch.

Briley Seiter (Bellevue, Ky.) threw three innings and recorded one strikeout in his third start of the spring on the mound. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) hurled 2.1 innings and finished with two strikeouts in his team-leading seventh relief outing of the year. Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) worked two-thirds of an inning and fanned one batter in his first career pitching appearance.

The two squads battled to a 2-2 tie in eight-innings as the nightcap was halted due to darkness, marking Eastern Nazarene's first draw since 2013.

The Bulldogs snagged a 1-0 lead with a run in the second inning. Retsyn Ootton doubled to drive in Lombardi from second base.

The Lions leveled the score at 1-1 in the top of the third. Santora tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Haberstumpf.

Dean reclaimed a one-run advantage in the home half of the third inning. Leblanc crossed the dish as Lombardi reached on an error.

Eastern Nazarene answered with a score in the fourth to tie the contest at 2-2 as Zach Zaino (Falmouth, Mass.) dashed home from second base after Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) lifted a flyball to center.

Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) threw 5.1 innings and fanned seven in his second start of the year. Ragan Cole (Alamogordo, N.M.) pitched 2.2 frames of relief and recorded four strikeouts in his fifth appearance out of the bullpen.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene travels to Lesley for an inter-conference showdown April 20.