By Jhett Laurie
Staff Writer
The College’s baseball team took its annual trip down to Florida to compete in the RussMatt Invitational over spring break. Competition was stiff, facing three teams nationally ranked within the top 10. The Lions finished the week with a strong 6-3 record, dropping the games to the ranked teams.
The trip marks a momentum shift in the season, having previously been below the .500 mark.
“The Florida trip was a significant boost for the team,” said Interim Head Coach Joe Godri. “Our team’s focus was locked in on baseball strategy and competition. Warm temperatures and sunshine made it a fantastic week for the ball club.”
The College started their week off strong, taking down Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 4-1 game. Senior pitcher Jackson Malouf had yet another strong outing, tallying nine innings, 10 strikeouts, four hits and one earned run, bringing his ERA to 0.90 through three games.
MSOE took a one-run lead in the fourth inning. However, the Lions rallied in the fifth inning with an RBI double by fifth-year Gianni Marano. The team never looked back, scoring one and two runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Junior Jack O’Donnell went 3-3, recording two doubles and two RBIs.
Sunday, March 16 saw the College take on Illinois Tech, and they handily defeated them 20-2. Junior Tyler Provost started the beat down early in the second inning with a two-run home run to put them up 2-0. Marano cleared the bases with a three run double in the same inning, setting the score to 5-0 in the second.
The third inning saw two more runs, with Sophomore Jake Carter knocking in a run with the bases loaded and Junior Jack O’Donnell pushing in a run with a sacrifice fly ball.
The College’s offense exploded in the fourth inning, tallying 10 runs through a combined effort by the whole team. With 10 hits, the team managed to score 10 runs, assisted by fifth-year Ryan Goodall, who hit a single and a double, collecting three RBIs to make the score 18-0.
Fifth-year Ben Amon gathered his first win of the season with five innings pitched and two earned runs. Goodall and Provost both went 2-2 and had six combined RBIs.
On Monday, March 17, the Lions took on No. 3 Johns Hopkins. The College went down quickly, with the Blue Jays hitting a homerun on the first pitch they saw. They used the momentum, combined with an error, to take a 4-0 lead.
The Lions would surge in the second inning, putting up three runs backed by a two-RBI double by O’Donnell. This would prove to not be enough as the College would give up another five runs in the second to make the score 9-3.
Johns Hopkins would continue to pile up points, with the score being 14-3 going into the sixth. O’Donnell would continue to have an outstanding day, singling to left field to score two runs, making the score 14-5 to keep the game alive. Hopkins would score the final run in the eighth inning to enact a mercy rule.
The College would cap off its first portion of the week with a doubleheader against Saint John’s (MN). Marano had a phenomenal day, pitching five innings, striking out six and letting up two runs while also going 2-3 at the plate.
Faced with bases loaded, senior Zach Hochheiser came through with a single in the third inning to score two runs. Goodall would fly out, but a runner was set up to score, bringing the total up to 3-0 in the third.
Saint John’s attempted to rally in the second half of the frame, tallying two runs on a home run. The College would add some insurance in the top of the fifth, with Goodall and senior Andrew Fernandez each recording an RBI. Hochheiser would record a career high four RBIs to lead the Lions to an 11-3 win in the first game.
The second game of the day was a thriller, as Saint John’s and the College would trade blows before the Lions pulled away in the sixth inning. The College would even the score in the fourth inning via a sac-fly from Fernandez after going down 1-0.
Saint John’s set the score to 2-1 in the top of the fifth, scoring on a throwing error by the College. Hochheiser ripped a single into left field in the bottom of the inning, bringing Marano home to tie the game.
Sophomore pitcher Evan Frank would enter the game in the sixth inning. He threw the remaining two innings, only allowing one hit and striking out five of the eight batters he faced. This would prove to be more than enough as the Lions’ bats were hot.
Senior Zach Weiner would lay down a bunt, and the Saint John’s pitcher overthrew the first baseman, allowing Weiner to advance to second and scoring Fernandez, who reached on a double in the previous at bat. Hochheiser would continue to dominate the Johnnies, as another single would score his sixth and seventh RBI of the day.
The Lions beat Saint John’s 5-2, bringing their record at this point to 4-1.
Wednesday was the only day off that the team would get on their trip before taking on No. 4 Endicott on Thursday, March 20.
A series of early miscues by the College left them in a deficit that they wouldn’t be able to overcome. A throwing error by the catcher combined with a balk that each brought in a run would put the Lions down 2-0 in the first inning.
Endicott would score an additional six runs in the third inning, bringing the score to 8-0.
The Lions struggled at the plate and faced a perfect game through the first three innings, only being broken up by a single in the fourth by Marano. The team would remain without any other hits until the sixth.
Freshman pitcher Ryan Greenstein would make his debut in relief during the fifth inning and dazzled the highly ranked Gulls. He would throw three innings, letting up only one hit and striking out two. Greenstein was awarded the Rookie Pitcher of the Week by the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
The College put up its lone run in the eighth inning with Senior Justin Marcario collecting an RBI. Endicott scored two more runs in the second half of the frame, making the final score 10-1.
Friday, March 21 saw the College play its second doubleheader against Kalamazoo College, a team who received votes for national ranking. The Lions would play strong baseball in both games, leading to their second doubleheader sweep of the trip.
The Lions would combine for 13 hits and nine runs in the first game, with a standout performance from Marano, who tallied two doubles and four RBIs. Amon would throw a complete game, letting up two runs with six strikeouts. Senior star second baseman Mike LaGravenis would gather his 150th career hit in a healthy 9-2 win.
During the second game, the Lions would go down 3-0 in the first inning before the bats woke up in the second. Goodall had a home run in the inning to start the scoring before the Lions offense blew it open in the third.
Provost and Fernandez would have two RBIs a piece in a five-run inning that saw the score swing in the Lions favor, 6-3. Goodall would nearly hit for the cycle, as a triple in the fourth and a double in the sixth would put him a single shy from the achievement.
The College would continue to put on the pressure, adding some cushion to their lead in the fourth and sixth innings, making the score 10-3. The Lions and Hornets would each get one run a piece before the College claimed an 11-4 victory.
In the final game of their Florida trip, the team would take on No. 7 Denison with Malouf on the mound. Malouf threw an impressive game, allowing only one earned run and striking out six in the six innings he pitched.
The College struggled to find open grass after taking a one run lead in the second inning. The team would be hitless until the seventh inning when Marcario would record a single. This would not prove to be enough as the College would wind up losing 8-1 against a strong Denison squad.
After finishing their trip 6-3, the Lions look to use the momentum to play a strong week of baseball as they play their first conference game at home against William Patterson on Saturday, March 29. Coach Godri says that he is “looking forward to seeing what the Lions achieve in the coming month,” and that there are “exciting times ahead!”
