Baseball Earns Split With Becker College In NECC Opener

Box Scores

HOLYOKE, Mass. – Elms College earned a doubleheader split with Becker College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) baseball action on Saturday afternoon at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass. Becker posted a 9-4 win in game one before Elms earned a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.  

With the split Elms moves to 6-6 on the season, 1-1 in league action, while Becker improves to 7-5 overall, 2-3 in NECC play.

Becker 9, Elms 4

In the first game, Becker plated a run in the bottom of the first and then struck for five in the bottom of the second following RBI singles by Mike Marcello (West Haven, Conn.) and Weston Meehan (Thomson, Ga.) and sacrifice flies by Cody Ewest (Warrenton, Ga.) and Todd Tompkins (West Haven, Conn.) to post a 6-0 cushion.

Elms answered with three runs in the top of the third when junior second baseman Andrew Kravontka (Manchester, Conn.) connected for a one-out single and then scored on a two-out triple by sophomore center fielder Stephen Fisher (West Boylston, Mass.). Junior third baseman Nicolino Iavicoli (Hampden, Mass.) then delivered an RBI single to score Fisher and senior first baseman Hector Roche (Bronx, N.Y.) poked an RBI base hit to center field to cut the Blazers' deficit in half at 6-3.

The Hawks plated three more runs in the bottom of the third on the strength of an RBI single by Manny Sanchez (Porterville, Calif.) to post a 9-3 advantage.

Elms' right-handed reliever Ryan Burnette (Chicopee, Mass.) tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief and Elms scored one in the top of the seventh when Fisher doubled down the left field line to score Kravontka who had reached on an error earlier in the frame.

Elms' senior shortstop Brendan Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.), Fisher and Roche each had two hits in the game, while the Hawks received two hits each from Ewest, Sanchez, Marcello and Keith Kandel (Fresno, Calif.).

Becker's Errick Maddern (West Haven, Conn.) earned the win tossing six strikeouts in a seven-inning, complete-game effort to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Elms' left-handed starter Nick Cordeiro (Berkley, Mass.) suffered the loss and moves to 2-1 on the season.

Elms 4, Becker 3

In the nightcap, Elms' freshman right-handed starter Curtis LeBeau (Auburn, Mass.) pitched a seven-inning, complete-game outing to improve to 1-2 on the season, scattering six hits and tossing three strikeouts.

With the score tied at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, the Blazers pushed two across when Kravontka scored on an RBI groundout, and Brendan Cordeiro scored on an infield single by Iavicoli to give the Blazers a 3-1 lead.

Becker got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Sanchez delivered a one-out single, advanced to third on a base hit by Marcello and then scored on a groundout by Tom Natoli (Suffern, N.Y.) to bring the Hawks to within one at 3-2.

The Blazers put across their final tally of the afternoon in the top of the fifth inning when freshman right fielder Derek Leal (Charlton, Mass.) tagged a one-out double to right field and then scored on an RBI single to left by senior catcher Carm Bonavita (Springfield, Mass.), upping Elms' lead to 4-2.

Becker added a run in the bottom of the sixth but could not score the equalizer as Elms held on for a 4-3 win.

Becker's middle reliever DJ Reed (Londonderry, N.H.) suffered the loss and is now 1-1 on the season.

Elms and Becker will complete the three-game series on Sunday, March 27 with a 12:00 p.m., nine-inning contest at MacKenzie Stadium in Holyoke, Mass.