The baseball team lost two out of three games to conference rivals, the Quinnipiac Bobcats, this past weekend. The Hawks started their weekend by splitting a doubleheader on Saturday and losing their final game, 5-3, on Monday.
Saturday began with a 9-0 loss to the Bobcats. In unusual fashion, senior right hander Chris McKenna went five innings allowing six runs, three of which were earned, off 11 hits. After facing 27 batters, Head Coach Dean Ehehalt replaced McKenna with senior righthander Adam Yunginger. Yunginger pitched the following three innings permitting three earned runs on five hits. Senior right hander Charlie Battis shut down the Bobcats’ offense with a solid ninth inning appearance. QU’s starter Thomas Jankins and reliever Taylor Luciani held the Hawks to two hits, one from junior Christian Holland and the other from sophomore Grant Lamberton.
The Bobcats saw four starters go 3-for-5 and accumulate a total of six runs. Batting clean-up for the Bobcats was Vincent Guglietti who contributed for four RBI’s and hit a double. QU’s Scott Donaghue also hit a double and scored three runs.
QU took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first and furthered their lead by another run in the top of the second. The Bobcats broke the game open in the third when they scored three more runs to make the score 6-0. With one out in the inning, John Bodenhamer started the rally when he reached first on an error. Two consecutive singles from Matt Oestreicher and Ben Gibson loaded the bases. Bodenhamer reached home on a sacrifice fly; Gibson and Oestreicher moved second and third base, respectively. With two on, Mike Palladino ripped a single down the left field line to plate both Gibson and Oestreicher.
MU was able to hold the QU offense for the next two innings, but by the top of the sixth, the score was 7-0. The final runs of the game came in the eighth inning courtesy of Guglietti’s two-RBI double.
With a break in between, MU was able to regain their stamina and win Game 2, 6-1. Right handed senior TJ Hunt started for the Hawks; he threw his second complete game of the season and earned his third win. Hunt gave up one run and struck out four over seven innings. Freshman Justin Trochiano led the Hawks offense 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI’s.
Game 2 was scoreless until the third when QU took a one run lead. Palladino walked and then stole second before coming home on Batten’s single to center. The Hawks answered with two runs of their own off three hits in the bottom of the third.
The game was knotted at 2-1 until the sixth inning when the Hawks added insurance runs to their victory. Sophomore Shaine Hughes and freshman Chris Gaetano both singled to get on base for senior Kyle Perry. Hitting the chalk on the third base side, Perry’s hit stayed fair for an RBI double plating Hughes. Junior Dan Shea then loaded the bases with an intentional walk. Trochiano hit a single to center scoring both Gaetano and Perry to give MU a 5-1 lead. Junior Robbie Alessandrine drew a walk to load the bases for the second time in the sixth. QU replaced pitcher Matt Lorenzetti with Gary Binkiewicz, but the pitching change was unable to stop MU of scoring. Binkiewicz walked senior Steve Wilgus to plate Shea and give the game its final score of 6-1.
“Winning the second game is a real boost. Their guy pitched extremely well in the first game, and I was really happy for Trochiano, he really provided us with a little bit of a boost and T.J. Hunt came out ready to go. That set the tone for a really solid win,” Coach Ehehalt said about the doubleheader.
The Hawks final game of the series came on Monday, April 6. Junior southpaw Anthony Ciavarella was given the start and lasted over six innings, allowing three earned runs off eight hits. Ciavarella struck out nine and surrendered no walks.
Despite Ciavarella three strike outs in the first inning, QU took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a two run single from Louis Iannotti. The Bobcats extended their lead to three in the next inning off a sacrifice fly by Brian Rudity’s to plate Oestreicher. QU stretched their lead to four Batten advanced to third on a wild pitch, scored, unearned. The Hawks got on the board in the third inning as Hughes crossed home. It was not until the seventh inning when the Hawks attempted a comeback.
Sophomore Ryan Bailey approached the plate as a pinch hitter and singled through the middle to put a base runner on. Trochiano followed with a walk while Alessandrine reached on a throwing error by third baseman. The error scored pinch runner, freshman Pete Papcun. Wilgus cut the lead to one with a ground ball hit to left that scored Trochiano.
The Bobcats made sure to capitalize on a ninth inning bases loaded scenario as Iannotti singled to center bringing the final score to 5-3.
The Hawks will next host Princeton on Wednesday, April 8 for a 3:00 pm game before they head to New Rochelle, NY this weekend to play a three game series against Iona.
PHOTO COURTESY of James Reme
