Baseball Lose to Emerson in Season Opener

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - The Elms College Baseball team traveled to Emerson College for a non-conference on Tuesday afternoon to kick off the 2025 season.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 5 | Emerson College 7
Records: Blazers 0-1, 0-0 (GNAC) | Lions 2-0, 0-0 (NEWMAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Elms started the game off strong, scoring two runs off singles by junior Nason Busca (Windsor, Conn.) and senior George Chaya Jr. (Methuen, Mass.), driving in junior Chase Prestia (Newington, Conn.) and sophomore Jayden Maynard (Enfield, Conn.), to put the Blazers up 2-0. First year Brycen Diaz (Andrews, Texas) would start the game off strong, pitching four shutout innings for Elms to preserve the lead. The Blazers extended their lead in the fifth inning when Chaya Jr. scored off of an Emerson throwing error, but in the bottom half of the same inning, Emerson scored six unanswered runs, courtesy of three separate home runs to put Elms in a 6-3 hole. Junior Justin Saad (Waterford, Conn.) would come into pitch in the fifth inning and would toss two and ⅔ innings for the Balzers. Elms responded in the top of the sixth when senior Camron Watkins (East Haddam, Conn.) belted a two-run double into center field, driving in graduate student AJ Cook (Mendon, Mass.) and Chaya Jr. to put the Blazers within striking distance with plenty of time to go. However, Emerson scored in the bottom half of the sixth off of yet another home run, extending their lead back to two runs. In the bottom of the eighth inning, senior Henry Rondon (Ansonia, Conn.) would come into the game, face three batters, and send each of them back to the dugout, with a strikeout to end the inning. Unfortunately, the Blazers offense could not capitalize in the final two innings and score any more runs, and Emerson handed Elms their first loss of the 2025 season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Diaz: four and ⅓ innings pitched with four strikeouts and four scoreless innings.

• Chaya Jr.: three hits in four at-bats with a double, two runs scored, a run batted-in, and a walk.

• Maynard: two hits in three at-bats with a double, a run scored, and a walk.

• Watkins: one hit in four at-bats with a double, two runs batted-in, and a walk.

• Busca: a hit in three at-bats with a run batted-in, and a walk.

• Prestia: one hit in five at-bats with a run scored.

• Cook: a run scored and two walks.

UP NEXT: The Elms Baseball team will travel to Davenport, Fla. for the 2025 RussMatt Invitational and will begin with a doubleheader against Gordon College on Friday, March 7th at 9:30 and 11:30 am at Northeast Regional Park Field 3.

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