Baseball Powers Past Hilbert, Falls to Immaculata

FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team collected a 16-8 win over Hilbert before suffering its first loss of the season, an 8-2 setback against Immaculata.

The Lions move to 6-1 on the year with the results. The Hawks drop to 2-6 overall and the Mighty Macs improve to 2-6.

Connor Simpson (Haverhill, Mass.) finished with four hits, three runs scored, three RBIs, and a stolen base. Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) notched four base hits, three runs, two RBIs, and a stolen bag. Josue Basilis (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in with three base knocks and three RBIs.  Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.) added three hits, three runs, and a pair of RBIs.

In its first tilt of the day, Eastern Nazarene notched its sixth-straight win with a 16-8 decision against Hilbert.

The Lions got out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) drove in Simpson with an RBI single before Bombard scampered home from third base on a wild pitch.

Eastern Nazarene doubled its advantage to 4-0 with two scores in the fourth. Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) roped a single to left to plate Carmody and came around to score on an infield hit by Basilis.

The Lions tacked on two runs in the fifth to widen the gap to 6-0. Carmody laced a base knock to left to drive in Pesce. Devin Haberstumpf (Forest Hill, N.Y.) tagged up and scored from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matthew Urena (Flushing, N.Y.).

The Hawks generated six runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 6-6. Winfred Nelson, Matthew Sokolski, and Jared Welnowski all scored before Tristan Aldinger belted a three-run homer.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed the lead with four runs in the home half of the frame, 10-6. Bombard hooked an RBI single to right to plate Simpson and crossed the dish on a groundout by Haberstumpf. Carmody followed with a double to left field to drive in Pesce. Louviaux scorched a single to left field to knock in Carmody.

The Lions added a score in the seventh to stretch the margin to 11-6 as Anthony Esposito (Mount Royal, N.J.) crossed the plate on a base knock to left by Bombard.

Eastern Nazarene produced five runs in the eighth inning to extend its lead to 16-6. Urena laced a single to left to drive in Carmody and Haberstumpf. With two runners in scoring position, Simpson launched his first collegiate home run to score Zach Zaino (Falmouth, Mass.) and Urena.

Hilbert cut the deficit to 16-8 with two runs in the ninth. Connor Duck and Ryan Perrin picked up back-to-back RBI singles.

Briley Seiter (Bellevue, Ky.) posted a career-high nine strikeouts as he tossed a career-long 5.2 innings in his first start of the season. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) pitched 2.1 innings and fanned five in his team-leading fourth relief appearance. Ryan Spina (Lake Grove, N.Y.) worked one inning of relief in his first outing of the spring.

In game two of the day, Eastern Nazarene absorbed its first loss of the season as it fell 8-2 to Immaculata.

The Lions broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning as Basilis raked a single to right to drive in Bombard and Zaino.

The Mighty Macs trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a steal of home by Zach Van Meter.

Immaculata jumped ahead 3-2 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Brad Misialek doubled to left to plate Connor Blesi and Tristan Ryan.

The Mighty Macs chalked up five runs in the seventh to push their lead to 8-2.

Alex Way (Syracuse, N.Y.) hurled six innings and recorded seven strikeouts in his second start of the season. Faria tossed one-third of an inning in his second appearance out of the bullpen on the day. Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) threw two-thirds of an inning in his first relief outing of the spring. Brandon Imonti (Tewksbury, Mass.) worked one inning in his first appearance of the year and registered two strikeouts.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns to the diamond March 9 to take on Elizabethtown.