Baseball Earns Split With Eastern Nazarene College In Final Day Of Gene Cusic Classic

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Elms College baseball team earned a doubleheader split with Eastern Nazarene College in the final day of Gene Cusic Classic action on Thursday in Fort Myers, Fla.

Eastern Nazarene earned a 12-6 win in the first game of the doubleheader, while Elms secured a 14-8 victory in the nightcap. With the split, Elms returns to Chicopee, Mass. with a 5-5 overall record.

Eastern Nazarene 12, Elms 6

Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, Eastern Nazarene erupted for nine runs highlighted by a pinch-hit grand slam from George Williams (Thornwood, N.Y.) to post a 12-6 win.

Elms used a three-run first inning to stake an early 3-0 lead. The Lions got a run back in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second before plating the equalizer in the fourth.

The Blazers extended its lead to six with a trio of runs in the top of the sixth stanza before Eastern Nazarene made its final comeback.

Elms was led by a 3 for 4 effort at the plate from senior shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.), while junior left fielder Donald Morse (Alfred, Maine) drove in three runs.

Elms' junior southpaw Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) started on the hill and pitched the first 5.1 innings. Freshman righty Curtis LeBeau (Auburn, Mass.) entered in relief and suffered the loss and is now 0-2 on the season.

Steve Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.) and Dave Rivera (Bronx, N.Y.) each added three hits in the win, while Justin Denbow (Readfield, Maine) struck out six in 6.0 innings of work on the mound to earn the victory.

Elms 14, Eastern Nazarene 8

After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, Elms tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the first and then used a three-run second and a six-run third to sprint out to a 12-3 lead.

Eastern Nazarene cut its deficit to 12-5 in the top of the fourth, and after Elms scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to set the score at 13-5, the Lions plated three runs in the sixth to pull to within five at 13-8.

The Blazers then plated the final run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth frame to secure a 14-8 win and earn a split in the contest.

Elms' sophomore right-handed hurler John Russell (Springfield, Mass.) tossed 3.2 innings and earned his first victory of the season to move to 1-0 overall, while sophomore right-handed reliever Ryan Burnette (Chicopee, Mass.) pitched 3.1 frames of relief. Russell struck out two batters, while Burnette fanned six hitters to seal the win.

Brendan Cordeiro, Morse and senior first baseman Hector Roche (Bronx, N.Y.) notched two hits each, while Roche and junior third baseman Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) drove in three runs each.

Brendan Cordeiro also scored four runs in the winning effort.  

Elms returns to action on Saturday, March 19 when it hosts Lesley University for a twinbill in its New England College Conference (NECC) home opener at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. Game times are set for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.