March 8, 2009
Game 1
Game 2
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Lafayette baseball team, coming off two wins against the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday, did not slow down on Sunday as the Leopards took two more games from the Hawks. Lafayette won all four games from UMES to improve to 7-3 on the season.
Ryan Hanna and Ethan Perro continued the solid performances the Lafayette pitching staff had on Saturday. Hanna held the Hawks (2-11) to three runs on eight hits in six innings of an eventual 8-4 Lafayette win. Perro, meanwhile, made his first collegiate start and pitched five innings of shutout ball in a 13-3 Leopard victory in the series finale.
Sophomore Rob Froio finished the weekend with 13 hits, including three in the second game on Sunday. The Leopards also hit two home runs in the final game, bringing their weekend total to six.
The Leopards wasted no time in getting to UMES starter Karim Gonzalez, putting five runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first, all coming with two outs. Daniel Bierce scored the first run and A.J. Pisarri had the big hit in the inning, knocking the ball through the right side to plate two Lafayette runners.
Lafayette added a run in the fourth inning on a Froio sac fly. UMES capitalized on a dropped fly ball and scored a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning to make it 6-1.
The lead remained at five runs until the sixth inning when Justin Shepherd led off with a single and came around to score on Jeff Butler's ground out to shortstop.
The Hawks pulled within four by adding two runs on three hits in the sixth inning, but Jeremy Atkins, who relieved Hanna in the sixth inning, caught Franklin Armstrong attempting to steal second to end the inning and keep it 7-3 in favor of the Leopards.
Both teams added solo runs in the seventh inning to make it 8-4 but Atkins pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings to give Lafayette the win.
Ian McCutcheon made sure the momentum from game one carried into the series finale as he singled home two runners in the top of the first to give the Leopards an early 2-0 lead.
Lafayette scored another pair of runs the following inning thanks to a Froio RBI single and a throwing error on Hawks' first baseman Pat Hercinger.
The Leopards piled on five more runs in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Froio singled home the first run with his third hit of the game. The bases were still loaded when Butler belted a grand slam to right field to give his team the 9-0 advantage.
Froio came through with RBI hits in the fourth and sixth innings to make it a double-digit Lafayette lead (11-0).
Jack Rems relieved Perro in the sixth inning. UMES got on the scoreboard with three runs in that inning on an Elliot Alston RBI double to left center and a sac fly off the bat of Jorge Pichardo.
Matt Hall, who hit two home runs in the opening game on Saturday, continued his power surge with a two-run blast in the seventh inning to make it 13-3, which stood as the final score.
Lafayette is scheduled to open its home season on Wednesday with a 3 p.m. game against East Stroudsburg.
Postgame Notes:
- The Leopards turned a triple play in the third inning of the second game (Shepherd to Pisarri to Butler to McCutcheon).
- Lafayette has now won four straight games.
- The Leopards scored 52 runs in the four games against UMES and did not give up more than five in a single game.
