The baseball team took on a five game week hosting the University of Massachusetts for a one game series this past Wednesday and traveling to Wagner College over the weekend to play in two doubleheaders.
As the Hawks were going through their pre-game drills before playing UMass Wednesday, they were confronted with a minor set back. Sophomore shortstop Jon Guida had suffered a hand injury and was benched for the game.
“Guida got hurt in the pre-game. He got hit in the hand before the Georgia State game and he played through it. The same thing happened today,” Ehehalt stated, “We just sat him as a precaution, he will be good to go for the weekend.” Looking to the bench, Ehehalt decided upon sophomore Jake Gronsky to fill the vacant spot. MU quickly adapted to the change by reconstructing their line-up, and took the field as if this speed bump had never happened.
The Hawks called on right-hander John Shippee to be the starting pitcher against UMass. Shippee pitched five innings, allowing eight hits, one run, two walks, and striking out four batters. Although eight hits in only five innings of work may appear like a mediocre thrown game on paper, Shippee did very well considering the circumstances. He had not pitched at all in the last year and his last win was back in April of 2010. When asked if he was just running out of steam by that point, Shippee responded, “Yeah probably, I haven’t thrown five innings in a long time.”
Relieving Shippee were Van Woert, Loiodice, Yunginger, and Battis: a set of four right-handed pitchers who contributed for allowing three hits, four walks, and five strikeouts over a span of four innings. Although there were many fresh arms coming in and out of the bullpen during MU’s last couple of innings, they came very close to losing their lead more than once.
Thankfully, MU outscored UMass with a final of 2-1. Key players were junior third baseman Danny Avella who went 2-for-2 with two walks and center fielder Josh Boyd who was 2-for-4. Others who also showed impressive lines were Gronsky who went 1-for-3 with an RBI and freshman catcher Kyle Perry who had the second RBI. Perry did not just aid his team offensively, but defensively as well.
But whether it is UMass or Wagner, Ehehalt believes that every game should be approached with the same mindset. “We got to not worry about who we are playing or who we’re beating. We’ve beat a lot of good teams this year and UMass is another team that is good that we beat, Coach Ehehalt continued. “There’s a lot of cliches in baseball, but we’ve got to go out and play a great game regardless of our opponent and that is what we’re trying to do. As far as a confidence stand point, we take a lot of pride in being good and beating teams that are better ranked. They’re [UMass] well coached and they’re a good team so we’re happy [with the win].”
After the win against UMass, the team traveled to Staten Island to face NEC opponent, the Wagner College Seahawks, in a four game series composed of two double headers.
Opening up the series against Wagner was right-handed junior Pat Light. In Light’s last appearance, he pitched a complete game striking out a career high 13 batters and he was prepared to do it again. Light’s pitches were perfectly executed in Friday’s game and he was able to strike out 11 batters over the course of nine innings. While this is an impressive feat, there was a more intense battle brewing. Up until the eighth inning, Light had been pitching a perfect game. 21 batters up, 21 batters down. Sadly, Light’s streak could not continue and was tainted by a simple base hit. Instead of a perfect game, Light walked away with a two-hit win over the Seahawks, which is still an impressive game. The Hawks ended up winning the game 2-0 with freshman designated hitter Chris Perret being the main offensive source of the matchup. Perret hit a double in the second knocking in second baseman Owen Stewart and left fielder Ed Martin.
In the nightcap, MU suffered a 9-2 loss against the Seahawks. Southpaw Andrew McGee went three and a third allowing five runs off of four hits while striking out one batter and giving up one walk. Right handed pitcher Neil Harm was called to replace McGee in the fourth and wound up throwing an inning and two thirds permitting one run off four hits. Righty Reid van Woert relieved Harm in the sixth but could not close the game out. Instead, van Woert supplied the Seahawks with their three runs needed to bring the game to the final 9-2 score. After two thirds of an inning, van Woert was taken out and right hander John McDonald was put in. McDonald was able to finish off the Seahawks. McGee gained his third loss this season and is currently sporting a 2-3 record.
While Friday’s second game scoreboard makes it seem like nothing had gone right for the Hawks, one of their players was able to boast about something. Rookie starting catcher, Kyle Perry, hit a solo shot in the second marking his first career home run. Perry also accounted for the team’s second RBI on a sac fly to right allowing Chris Perret to tag up and cross home plate.
The men split Saturday’s double header with Wagner winning the first game 7-4 and MU winning the final game 7-4. Lefty Dan Smith opened the day against Wagner pitching five and two thirds allowing 10 hits, seven runs (six earned), and striking three out. Freshman righty Adam Yunginger was sent in to finish the game and got the one out needed to do so. With the loss, Smith brought his record to 3-3 for the season.
Game two gave Monmouth a much better result than the first. Being called to the mound was lefty Stephen Frey. The Seahawks managed to get nine hits off of Frey, but Monmouth was able to hold them to four runs. Relieving Frey was freshman closer Charlie Battis, who pitched one inning of flawless work striking out two batters to earn the save. Frey was awarded his third win of the season. Although both pitchers did considerably well, neither of them could have received the win or save without the team’s offensive support.
In the second inning, Wagner was leading MU 4-0 in what seemed like it would turn out to be a long game. Fortunately, MU was able to get on the scoreboard in the third with senior Ed Martin scoring on a base hit by Gronsky. The Hawks changed the score in the sixth when shortstop Jon Guida hit a two-run single up the middle knocking in both Stewart and Perret, making it a one run game. The Hawks scored three more runs in the seventh with a base clearing double off Avella’s bat. Martin, Gronsky, and senior Jamie Rosenkranz accounted for the runs. MU’s final run crossed the plater in the ninth off a double by Stewart down the right field line scoring Gronsky.
This past week put MU’s current record at 13-9 (5-3 NEC). The return to the field this on Tuesday March 27 for a non-conference game against Saint Peter’s in Jersey City. They will also host Temple University in a conference game Friday at 3:00 pm and Saturday at 1:00 pm.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
