Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Manhattanville Sunday

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team halved a twinbill against Manhattanville Sunday evening to kick off its spring break trip to the Cal Ripken Experience.

The Lions claimed a 10-8 victory in game one before dropping a 9-2 decision in the second contest to progress to 4-1 on the year while the Valiants move to 2-4 overall with the results.

Joshua Bombard (Rutland, Mass.) notched three hits, one RBI, one stolen base, and one run scored in the series. Hunter Leroux-Porter (Greenland, N.H.) posted two hits, three RBIs, and one run scored. Dylan Louviaux (Mohnton, Pa.) chipped in with a pair of runs scored, one hit, one RBI, and a stolen base.

In game one of the doubleheader, Eastern Nazarene battled back to earn a 10-8 come-from-behind win.

Manhattanville constructed a 4-0 lead with four runs in the top of the first inning. Matt Lynch crossed the dish as Jack Matero reached on an error. Hathaway Roper doubled to drive in Tyler Viscusi and Matero before Peter Iannarilli scored on a groundout by Luke Tebolt.

The Lions cut the deficit in half, 4-2, with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Leroux-Porter laced a two-out single to plate Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) and Louviaux.

The Valiants tallied one run in the third to widen the margin to 5-2. Tebolt notched his second RBI of the game with a single to knock in Iannarilli from second base.

Eastern Nazarene scored once in the home half of the fourth inning to narrow the gap to 5-3. Bobby Fulkerson (Anaheim, Calif.) registered his second RBI of the year with a base knock to drive in Henry Checo (Lawrence, Mass.).

Manhattanville reclaimed a four-run advantage after chalking up a pair of runs in the fifth, 7-3. Roper tagged up and scampered home from third base on a sacrifice fly by Lynch before Johnny Mariano crossed the dish on a passed ball.

The Lions erupted for seven runs in the sixth to seize a 10-7 lead. Brandon Guerrero (Boston, Mass.) doubled to plate Juan Jacobo Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) before Louviaux laced a single to score Checo.  Bombard singled to knock in Guerrero followed by a bases-loaded walk by Leroux-Porter to drive in Louviaux. Fulkerson and Bombard both scurried home on a pair of wild pitches in the inning. Jaime Roldan (Boston, Mass.) capped off the frame with an RBI single to plate Leroux-Porter.

The Valiants pushed across one run in the seventh to trim the deficit to 10-8. Brian Bornkamp tagged up and scored as Matero lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Brenndan Rogers (Hanson, Mass.) pitched five innings and struck out two batters in his second start of the year. Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) hurled one scoreless inning of relief to collect his first win of the season in his first appearance out of the bullpen. Daniel Rivera (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) worked one inning in his first relief outing, recording two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the spring.

In the series finale, Eastern Nazarene absorbed its first loss of the season with a 9-2 setback to Manhattanville.

The Valiants snagged a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the first inning as Lynch crossed the dish on a wild pitch.

Manhattanville tallied three runs in the third to extend its advantage to 4-0. Iannarilli landed a two-run double before Zachary Feinstein collected an RBI single.

The Valiants added a run in the fifth to stretch the gap to 5-0. Iannarilli scored his second run of the game as he tagged up and motored home from third on a sacrifice fly by Jake Parisi.

Manhattanville chalked up four runs in the home half of the sixth inning to push its lead to 9-0.

The Lions got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Elvin Smith (Boston, Mass.) belted his first collegiate home run, a two-run blast to drive in Anthony Castrogiovanni (Bohemia, N.Y.).

In his second outing of the night and second start of the season, Rivera tossed 2.1 innings and fanned five. Jon Tessier (Coronado, Calif.) worked three innings in his team-leading third relief appearance. Tommy Merrick (Brockton, Mass.) threw two-thirds of an inning and recorded one strikeout in his season debut.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will face Christopher Newport for the first time in program history March 2.