Baseball Swept in Conference Doubleheader at USJ

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Elms College Baseball team traveled to the University of Saint Joseph, Conn. for a conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

BASICS
Game 1
Score: Elms College 1 | University of Saint Joseph, Conn. 5
Records: Blazers 6-10, 1-2 (GNAC) | Blue Jays 11-8, 3-0 (GNAC)

Game 2
Score: Elms College 1 | University of Saint Joseph, Conn. 4
Records: Blazers 6-11, 1-3 (GNAC) | Blue Jays 12-8, 4-0 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
The Blazers struggled early on in Game 1, as the Elms defense could not keep the Blue Jays in check. Senior pitcher Henry Rondon (Ansonia, Conn) pitched seven strong innings for Blazers, doing the best he could to limit Saint Joseph, but without any support offensively, Elms found themselves in a 5-0 hole after the first two innings. Rondon would settle down after the second inning and allow no runs for the rest of his five innings of work, but Elms couldn't put a run on the board until the seventh inning when first year infielder/pitcher Brycen Diaz (Andrews, Texas) scored off a solo home run to make the game 5-1. Elms couldn't add to their lead and lost Game 1 of the doubleheader.

Game 2
The Blazers quickly fell behind 1-0 after the first inning, but sophomore pitcher Ryan Ziegler (Uncasville, Conn.) settled down and pitched four spotless innings for the Blazers to keep the Blue Jays lead at bay. However, Elms continued to struggle on offense. In the sixth inning, Saint Joseph scored another run to make the game 2-0 in favor of the Jays. Elms finally came alive in the seventh inning when graduate student AJ Cook (Mendon, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice to score sophomore pitcher/utility player Andrew Ciaglo (Hadley, Mass.) to make the deficit 2-1. However, in the next inning, the Blue Jays scored two runs off of junior pitcher Colby Arnold (Waterford, Conn.) to go up 4-0. Elms was unable to bring the bats to life in the ensuing innings, resulting in another tough conference loss and the doubleheader sweep in Saint Joseph favor.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Arnold: would pitch two innings, with a strikeout.

• Busca: one for seven.

• Chaya Jr.: two for eight, with a stolen base.

• Ciaglo: one for five, with a run scored and a walk, and would complete a double play.

• Cook: one for seven, with a run batted-in and a walk.

• Diaz: two for six, with a home run, a run scored, a run batted-in, and two walks, and would assist on a double play.

• Prestia: two for six.

• Rondon: would pitch seven innings, with three strikeouts and five scoreless innings.

• Saad: would pitch an inning with a strikeout.

• Ziegler: would pitch six innings, with four scoreless innings.

UP NEXT: The Elms Baseball team will travel to Norwich University on Tuesday, April 1st for a conference game at 3:30 pm.

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