April 18, 2009
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Runs certainly were not at a premium for the baseball team on Saturday as the Leopards combined for 20 runs against Holy Cross. Unfortunately the Leopards, who captured a game one victory, came away with a split as the Crusaders hit three homers in their game two victory.
Lafayette (19-16, 8-5) won a 10-1 decision in the series opener behind the complete-game, 10-strikeout performance of Zach Fritz. In the second game, the Leopards held a 10-8 lead into the eighth inning before the Crusaders (15-22, 6-6) posted a six-run ninth inning to win 14-10.
Daniel Bierce finished the day 4-for-7 with four runs scored. Leadoff hitter Rob Froio drove home four runs on three hits and Matt Hall and Bierce both hit home runs and combined to drive in five runs.
In the first game, Fritz threw two scoreless innings before loading the bases with no one out in the third inning. He then struck out the next two batters he faced before getting Jake Gorman to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.
In the fourth, A.J. Pisarri opened the inning by reaching second on a throwing. He advanced to third and came home on Jeff Butler's sac fly to left field.
The Leopards tacked two more runs in the fifth. Hall led off with a long double to right center and came around to score on Justin Shepherd's single up the middle. Shepherd advanced to third with two groundouts. With two outs, Froio bunted to the pitcher and beat the throw to first, allowing Shepherd to score Lafayette's third run.
Holy Cross's Eric Oxford made it a two-run game with a leadoff homer to right field in the top of the sixth off Fritz. Fritz settled down and ended the inning by getting John Sills to strike out swinging.
The Leopards broke out for seven runs in the sixth inning as they batted around the order. Shepherd made it a 4-1 game with a RBI single to center field to score Butler. The Leopards proceeded to load the bases with only one out and a walk to Alex Bechta forced home the game's fifth run. Froio singled through a draw-in infield, sending home two more runners. A Holy Cross error led to two more runs in the inning and Brad Weiss knocked a ball to left field to score the seventh and final run in the inning.
Fritz got the final batter of the game to strike out swinging--his 10th strikeout of the game--to end the game and clinch his the victory.
The second game started on an entirely different note. Leopard starter Corey Shea ran into trouble from the beginning, giving up two runs in the first inning. The runs came on just one hit as Shea walked two batters, hit another and a fielding error behind him led to the two runs. He rebounded by striking out the final batter in the inning to keep it a two-run game.
Hall quickly made it a one-run lead when he knocked a ball over the right field fence for a solo homer--his fourth of the spring.
After retiring the side in the second, Shea gave up another run in third inning on a RBI double off the bat of John Sills to make the score 3-1.
Two standout defensive plays by the Leopards in the fourth kept the Crusaders off the base paths. In the bottom half of that inning, Lafayette added another run when Weiss grounded out with Butler on third to make it 3-2.
Lafayette took the lead for the first time with a seven-run fifth inning. The Leopards batted around, knocking six hits off three Holy Cross pitchers. Bechta, Froio Bierce, Weiss Hall all had RBIs in the inning with Weiss sending two runners home with a bases loaded RBI single.
Holy Cross immediately got back two of those runs the next inning. Sills belted a leadoff home run to right center. The Crusaders proceeded to load the bases and a Jake Gorman sac fly cut the Leopards' lead to four (9-5).
In the seventh, Bierce hit the Leopards' second homer of the game, a solo shot to left center, to make it 10-5.
Jeff Snell entered the game in the seventh inning and retired the side in order. In the eighth, though, he gave up three runs on two hits to put the Crusaders right back in the game at 10-8. Head coach Joe Kinney stuck with Snell, however, and the rookie recorded three straight outs to escape out of the inning.
The Crusaders would not quit and with one out in the ninth and one man on base, Steve Tkowski hit a game-tying home run to right field off Snell, knotting the game at 10. Holy Cross proceeded to put two more runners on base and Kinney called on senior closer Brian Mostek. Mostek threw six straight balls out of the strike zone to load the bases before giving up a grand slam to Eric Oxford, handing the Crusaders a 14-10 lead and the eventual win.
The Leopards and Crusaders wrap-up their series tomorrow with another doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
Postgame Notes:
- Lafayette has won four of its last five series against Holy Cross and will look to make it five of six with two wins tomorrow.
- Despite the split, Lafayette still holds a 6-2 record at home this season.
