WATERTOWN MASS. – The SUNY Poly baseball team opened their 2024 NAC schedule on Friday afternoon with a pair of games at Eastern Nazarene. The two teams split the doubleheader, with ENC winning game one behind a great pitching performance by Francis Ferguson. The Wildcats answered back in a big way in game two. They exploded for four runs in the first inning of the game to take an early lead. After extending that lead to five runs, the pitching staff took care of business, securing the double-header split.
GAME ONE:
Friday, March 15th 2024
SUNY Poly - 0
Eastern Nazarene - 5
The SUNY Poly baseball team faced a tough battle against Eastern Nazarene in the first game of the doubleheader, falling 5-0 in a conference matchup at Victory Field.
Eastern Nazarene's Francis Ferguson dominated on the mound, pitching a complete game shutout while striking out 12 batters and allowing only three hits. SUNY Poly struggled to find their offensive rhythm against Ferguson.
The turning point came in the bottom of the third inning when Eastern Nazarene plated five runs. Ferguson helped his own cause with a single to left field, driving in Michael Monteforte for the opening run. Anderson Jimenez then delivered a clutch double to left field, plating two more runs. Eduardo Labour followed suit with a double to center field, bringing home two additional runs, securing a commanding lead for Eastern Nazarene.
SUNY Poly reliever Samuel Vainauskas came in in the fourth inning and battled to stop the bleeding, but the five runs was too much to overcome.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
· Ryan Pelton, Ethan Merone, and Derek Menechino each recorded a hit for the Wildcats.
· Samuel Vainauskas threw three innings in relief for Poly. He gave up just two hits and allowed no runs.
· Elvis Rojas had a pair of hits and scored a run for ENC.
· Anderson Jimenez and Eduardo Labour each had two RBI for ENC.
GAME TWO:
Friday, March 15th 2024
SUNY Poly - 5
Eastern Nazarene – 4
In a nail-biting game two, the Wildcats managed to secure a narrow 5-4 victory over Eastern Nazarene to level the series at a game apiece.
SUNY Poly came out swinging in the opening inning, notching four runs to set the tone early. Derek Menechino kicked off the scoring spree by crossing the plate on a bases-loaded walk issued to Parker Wing. The Wildcats capitalized on another walk, scoring Ethan Walker on a Will Orlando walk to put Poly up by two. Christopher Martin drove in a pair of runs to cap the inning on a timely single to right field that drove home Wing and Ethan Merone.
The Wildcats extended their lead to five runs in the top of the second on an RBI single to left field by Ethan Merone that scored Menechino.
Eastern Nazarene started to chip away at the lead in the fourth inning, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by Anderson Jimenez. The Lions added two more runs in the fifth, courtesy of Elvis Rojas's two-RBI single to right field.
ENC would score another run in the sixth to cut the Wildcat lead to one on an Eduardo Labour RBI single, but that would be all that they could muster.
Aaron Kifer earned the win on the mound for SUNY Poly, pitching six solid innings and allowing four runs on six hits while striking out two. Parker Wing contributed a scoreless inning in relief to earn his first save of the season.
For Eastern Nazarene, Colby Rohr struggled in the first inning, surrendering four runs before being relieved by Liam Bruskewicz, who held SUNY Poly to just one additional run over six innings of work.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
· Kurt Johnson recorded a pair of hits for the Wildcats including a double.
· Parker Wing went 1-3 in the game with a double, a walk, and a run scored. He also recorded a save, striking out the side in the seventh.
· Christopher Martin went 1-3 with a pair of RBIs for Poly.
· Ethan Merone went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
· Derek Menechino went 1-3 with a single, a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base.
· Frank Landiero had a pair of hits and a stolen base for ENC.
· Elvis Rojas went 1-3 with a pair of RBIs for the Lions.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats and the Lions will play a single nine-inning game on Saturday, March 16th to wrap up their weekend. The game is scheduled for a 12:00 PM start at Libby Field in Weymouth, Massachusetts.