Baseball Splits Doubleheader With St. Joseph's (LI)
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Elms College baseball squad closed out their 2015 Spring Break trip taking one of two games with St. Joseph's-Long Island at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic Thursday afternoon. The Blazers claimed the opener, 5-4, followed by a 6-4 defeat to the Eagles. Elms matched their most successful trip to the Gene Cusic, picking up five wins to open the season.
In game one, St. Joseph's dented the scoreboard in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from junior Brendan Sullivan (Plainview, N.Y.). The Blazers grabbed control in the second as sophomore Jordan Zima (Berlin, Conn.) led off the frame with a double, and scored on a bases loaded walk to senior Brady Forrest (Hampden, Mass.). Junior Brian Hungerford (New Preston, Conn.) put Elms ahead with a two-run double, staking the Blazers to a 3-1 lead.
The Blazers loaded the bases in the third, and a hit by pitch to Forrest plated Zima to make it a 4-1 game. A passed ball from Eagles freshman pitcher Eric Deutsch (Medford, N.Y.) brought home freshman Zach Lawrence (Colchester, Conn.), pushing the Elms cushion to 5-1. St. Joseph's chipped into their deficit with a sacrifice fly from sophomore Bob Keating (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) in the fourth. The Eagles mounted a final rally in the seventh, plating two runs on a double from junior Nick Girardi (Syosset, N.Y.), but Elms junior Brian Langdon (Beacon Falls, Conn.) ended the rally with a strikeout, securing the 5-4 win for the Blazers.
Elms senior Sean Sinnott (1-0; Granby, Conn.) registered his first victory of the season, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. Langdon picked up his second save of the season with three strikeouts in two innings of work. Deutsch took the loss, surrendering five runs, one earned, with two strikeouts.
The nightcap opened with two scoreless innings until St. Joseph's scored three runs in the third. Girardi delivered an RBI single, and then scored on a two-run single from Sullivan, giving St. Joseph's a 3-0 lead. The Blazers cut the Eagles lead to a run, 3-2, on RBI singles from Zima and freshman Andy Vasquez (Queens, N.Y.) in the fourth.
St. Joseph's rebuilt their advantage in the sixth with a run scoring on a fielding error by the Blazers. The Eagles followed with a pair of runs on RBI singles from freshman Matthew Burnett (Amityville, N.Y.) and sophomore Anthony Bonilla (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), to regain a 6-2 lead. The Blazers rallied in the sixth as Vasquez laced an RBI single, and then Forrest brought home junior Nolan Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) with a single, cutting the Eagles lead to 6-4. Elms had a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but failed to bring him around, as the Blazers fell to St. Joseph's 6-4.
Elms sophomore Cody Lemieux (1-1; Torrington, Conn.) gave up six runs, four earned, on 10 hits with a strikeout in five-plus innings in the loss. Eagles freshman Frank Ziegler (1-0; Wantagh, N.Y.) earned the win in three innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.
The Blazers move to 5-4 on the season, while St. Joseph's sits at 1-3 on the year. Elms will return to the diamond with a road trip to Westfield State for a non-conference game on Tuesday, March 17th at 3:30 p.m. St. Joseph's will face Swarthmore for a doubleheader Friday afternoon.
ELMS BASEBALL
