By Nicole Apicelli
Sports Editor
The Lions were on the road to face Immaculata University on Tuesday. Still riding high from their victory in the doubleheader against New Jersey City University over the weekend, the College started off strong, scoring three runs in the first inning.
Lions pitcher Matthew Crawford produced a seamless one-two-three inning in the bottom of the first to further establish their dominance over the not-so Mighty Macs. Second baseman Mike Lagravenis was the only Lion to reach first at the top of the second inning. Despite his successful attempt to steal second, the College was unable to score.
In a similar series of events, the Mighty Macs left a runner stranded at second to close a scoreless second inning. Immaculata pitcher Stephen DiBatista produced his own one-two-three inning against the Lions in the top of the third, which resulted in yet another uneventful inning following the action-packed start to the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Mighty Macs regained their focus and scored a run, which dwindled the Lions’ lead to 3-1. Outfielder Jack Haynes responded in the top of the fifth when he singled to center field and was batted in by designated hitter Chris Reeder. An RBI by shortstop Chris Cote brought Reeder home, which increased the score, 5-1.
Immaculata infielder Maddox Stern made it to first following an error by Cote before the shortstop quickly corrected his mistake by picking Stern off at second base. Infielder Justin Marcario hit a double down the left field line in the top of the sixth before he was brought home by Lagravenis, which added another run to the Lions’ lead.
Crawford pitched another one-two-three inning in the bottom of the sixth to retire the Mighty Macs. In the top of the seventh, Immaculata made their first pitching change when they brought Joseph Chesnik to the mound. Chesnik was not greeted kindly by the Lions, as both Reeder and Cote worked their way around the bases and eventually made the score 8-1.
In the top of the eighth, Immaculata pitcher Alexander Singer took the mound and retired the side without allowing any runs. Joseph Felipe came in to pitch for the Lions in the bottom of the eighth and walked infielder Steven Theisen, which allowed two runs to score. Felipe was replaced by Alec Schwartz, who allowed one more run and dwindled the College’s lead to 8-4.
Lagravenis earned another RBI in the top of the ninth to score the last run of the day for the Lions. In the bottom of the ninth, Thiesen doubled to center field and scored one more run for Immaculata, which made the final score of the game 9-5.
Despite allowing a slight comeback by the Mighty Macs, the College tacked another win onto their record. The Lions will next face William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. on Friday.
