Baseball Downs Geneva 15-9 for Third Win in a Row

FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team claimed its third-consecutive victory Monday, defeating Geneva 15-9.

The Lions leap to 3-0 on the spring with the win while the Golden Tornadoes move to 2-1 overall.

Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) recorded a pair of hits, three runs scored, and drove in two RBIs in the game. Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) finished with three RBIs, two hits, and a run scored. Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) crossed the plate four times in the contest and added two base knocks. Anthony Esposito (Mount Royal, N.J.), Matthew Urena (Flushing, N.Y.), and Zach Zaino (Falmouth, Mass.) all collected two hits on the day while Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) posted three RBIs.

Geneva got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to establish a 3-0 lead. Jacob Poremski drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Vinny Howells before Jericho Hilling singled to drive in Garrison Wieland and Forrest Beighley.

The Golden Tornadoes added a score in the second to stretch the margin to 4-0. With the bases full, Joey Luciana was hit by a pitch that knocked in Dillon Taggart from third base.

Eastern Nazarene vaulted into the lead with a seven-run outburst in the top of the third, 7-4. Basilis scampered home as Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hills, N.Y.) grounded out. Carmody followed with a two-run single to score Esposito and Simpson. Urena laced a base hit up the middle to drive in Carmody from second base. After Urena and Zaino both trotted home on balks, Basilis doubled to right field in his second plate appearance of the inning to drive in Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) all the way from first.

The Lions widened the gap to 8-4 with one run in the fourth as Esposito picked up an RBI as Simpson crossed the dish on a groundout.

Geneva answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 8-6. Tyler Paaduan and Howells both scored on a two-out single by Luciana.

Eastern Nazarene manufactured one run in the fifth to extend its advantage to 9-6. Zaino rounded third and motored home on a base knock to right off the bat of Basilis.

The Golden Tornadoes tallied three runs in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 9-9. Taggart, Paaduan, and Howells all scored in the inning for Geneva.

The Lions reclaimed the lead with three scores in the eighth inning, 12-9. Pesce drove in Basilis as he reached on a fielder's choice before Haberstumpf plated Simpson with a single to right. Carmody roped a single to right to knock in Pesce from second base.

Eastern Nazarene widened the gap to 15-9 with a three-run frame in the ninth. Pesce lasered a double to centerfield to drive in Basilis and Louviaux and Zaino scorched a single to left to score Simpson.

Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) started on the mound and tossed 1.2 innings with one strikeout. Briley Seiter (Bellevue, Ky.) worked 3.1 innings of relief and recorded four strikeouts. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) pitched three innings in his second appearance out of the bullpen this spring and picked up his second career win. Haberstumpf slammed the door with a pop-out, strikeout, and a fly-out in his second outing of the year.

Looking ahead, the Lions are slated to battle Bridgewater State in a doubleheader March 6 in Vero Beach, Florida.