Baseball Sweeps by University of Maine-Presque Isle, 11-3 and 8-0

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College junior center fielder Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.) went a combined 6 for 9 at the plate with five RBI and sophomore pitcher Andrew Sadowski (Northampton, Mass.) tossed a complete-game shutout in game two to help the Blazers post victories of 11-3 and 8-0 in Sunday afternoon's non-conference baseball double header against the University of Maine-Presque Isle at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.

With the wins, Elms improves to 4-9 overall, while Maine-Presque Isle moves to 1-14 on the season.

Game One: Elms 11, UMPI 3 (7 innings)

In game one, Elms tallied three runs in the bottom of the third and four each in the bottom of the fourth and fifth frames to secure the 11-3 victory.

Elms broke the 0-0 deadlock when Forrest singled in freshman left fielder Tim Gelzinis (North Dighton, Mass.). The Blazers then added two more runs on an RBI groundout by sophomore shortstop Nolan Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) and a run-scoring base hit by senior catcher Zach Dreher (Naugatuck, Conn.) to give Elms a 3-0 edge.

Maine-Presque Isle answered with a run in the top of the fourth when Adam Begos (Westbrook, Maine) lifted a sacrifice fly to left field plating Josiah Brazier (Searsport, Maine) to set the score at 3-1.

The Blazers added four more in the bottom of the fourth when Forrest notched an RBI single up the middle to score Gelzinis, before Dreher drove in two with a double to left field to lift the lead to 6-1. Senior designated hitter Sam Farnsworth (Westfield, Mass.) then reached on a miscue to send Dreher home with the seventh run of the contest.

Medeiros, Farnsworth and junior third baseman Geoff Frost (Ludlow, Mass.) each connected for RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth and Forrest added an RBI double to right to give Elms an 11-1 cushion.

The Owls plated two in the top of the sixth when Shane Smith (Farmington, Maine) ripped an RBI base hit down the right field line and Alex Csiernik (Hamilton, Ontario) delivered a sacrifice fly to set the final score at 11-3.

Forrest finished game one 4 for 5 with a double and three runs scored, sophomore second baseman Aedin Wadja (Lebanon, Conn.) was 4 for 4 with three runs scored and a double, while Dreher and Medeiros each had a 3 for 5 effort at the plate in game one.  Farnsworth and Frost each collected two hits as Elms notched 20 hits in the win.

Senior starter Derek Leal (Charlton, Mass.) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits in five innings of work and struck out a batter to earn his first win of the season. Frehsman Cody Lemieux (Torrington, Conn.) tossed a pair of scorless relief innings and scattered two hits and struck out one.

Maine-Presque Isle's starter Jordan Perry (Baileyvill,e Maine) suffered the loss in 4.2 innings of work, while Lucas Molloy (Lovell, Maine) tossed 1.1 innings of shutout baseball.

Game Two: Elms 8, UMPI 0

In game two, Sadowski was terrific on the hill, hurling seven shutout innings to pick up his first win of the season.

An RBI single to left center by Farnsworth and a sacrifice fly by Frost gave Elms a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, before Frost drove in his second run of the contest in the bottom of the third frame to give the Blazers a 3-0 lead.

Elms then explode for five runs in the home half of the sixth stanza on the strength of a two-run double by Forrest and RBI base hits by Medeiros, Farnsworth and Frost to help the Blazers seal the 8-0 victory

Farnsworth was 3 for 4 with two RBI and Medeiros was 3 for 3 with three runs scored in game two. Gelzinis also registered three hits in the nightcap, while Frost was 2 for 3 with three RBI and Forrest was 2 for 4 with two RBIto lead the Elms offensive attack.

Csiernik was 2 for 3 at the plate for Maine-Presque Isle, while Owls' starter Ryan Thompson (East Millinocket, Maine) suffered the game two loss following 5.2 innings on the mound.

Elms returns to action on Tuesday, April 8 when it hosts Daniel Webster College in its New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) home opener at 7:30 p.m. at MacKenzie Stadium.