Baseball Splits Doubleheader with SUNY Cobleskill Saturday

READING, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team collected a 12-2 victory before dropping a 14-7 decision to SUNY Cobleskill Saturday afternoon.

GAME ONE
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 12, SUNY Cobleskill 2
Records: Lions (7-17-1, 5-4 NAC) | Fighting Tigers (11-18, 7-2 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Eastern Nazarene chalked up two runs in the bottom of the first inning to snag a 2-0 edge. O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) laced a two-out triple down the right field line to drive in Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) all the way from first base. Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) followed with a base knock up the middle to plate O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.).
• The Lions posted five runs in the third to stretch their lead to 7-0. Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) clobbered a leadoff homer before Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) raked a single to score Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.). O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) tagged up and motored home from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Michael Monteforte (Wilmington, Mass.). Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) laced a double to left-centerfield to drive in Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and Andiover Feliz (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
• SUNY Cobleskill got on the board in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-2.
• Eastern Nazarene manufactured five runs in the sixth to widen the margin to 12-2.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Eduardo Labour (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) collected three hits, two RBIs, and one run scored.
• Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) finished with two hits, two RBIs, and a pair of runs scored.
• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) posted one hit, two RBIs, two runs scored, and one stolen base.
• Anderson Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) recorded two base knocks, two runs scored, and one RBI.
• Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) notched two hits, two RBIs, and scored one run.
• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) tossed his third complete game of the season and fanned five batters.

GAME TWO
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 7, SUNY Cobleskill 14
Records: Lions (7-18-1, 5-5 NAC) | Fighting Tigers (12-18, 8-2 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• SUNY Cobleskill scored once in the top of the first inning to grab a 1-0 lead.
• Eastern Nazarene answered with a run in the home half of the first to level the contest at 1-1. O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) knocked in Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) with an RBI groundout.
• The Lions picked up one run in the second to capture a 2-1 edge. Ruddy Vidal (Barahona, Dominican Republic) tagged up and scampered home from third base on a sacrifice fly by Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
• The Fighting Tigers equalized with a run in the third before claiming an 8-2 lead with six runs in the fifth inning.
• Eastern Nazarene responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to trim the gap to 8-4.
• The Lions produced three runs in the sixth to narrow the deficit to one, 8-7. Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) launched a three-run home run to score Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) and Luke Descheneaux (Lowell, Mass.).
• SUNY Cobleskill rattled off six runs in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to 14-7.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Francis Ferguson (Jefferson, Mass.) racked up three hits, three RBIs, and three runs scored.
• O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) notched two hits and a pair of RBIs.
• Elvis Rojas (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) chipped in with one base hit, one RBI, and a run scored.
• Anthony Ventura (La Romana, Dominican Republic) made his first start of the season on the mound and pitched four innings while registering three strikeouts. Liam Bruskewicz (Granite Springs, N.Y.) made his team-leading 12th appearance and Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) made his fifth relief appearance. O'Neil Jimenez (Lowell, Mass.) worked the final frame in his first action on the mound this spring.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene heads to Colby April 23.