March 1, 2015

8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Richmond 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 9 1 Lafayette 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 0 Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) 5

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. - The Lafayette offense smacked four home runs and equaled its hit total from the first three games combined, but it wasn't enough as the Leopards fell by a score of 8-5 to Richmond in non-conference baseball action on Sunday at the Charleston Baseball Academy's Dennis Park.

Junior third baseman Tyler Hudson paced the Lafayette attack by going 3-for-4 with two solo home runs and a double. Junior first baseman Campbell Lipe and senior designated hitter Tim Lazor also added solo shots as part of a nine-hit effort by the Leopards. It was a welcome turnaround after Richmond (5-3) held Lafayette (1-3) to just one hit on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Maroon and White, Richmond's bats were just as hot and they did all the damage they needed in the first two innings alone.

The Spiders jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first, stringing together four consecutive hits, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly to manufacture four runs.

Richmond doubled down in the second inning, using a grand slam to build an 8-0 advantage. Lafayette starter Toby Schwartz walked the bases loaded and Richmond designated hitter Kurtis Brown made him pay, launching a bases-clearing shot to right-center field. Brown finished the game 2-for-5 with five RBIs.

Lafayette answered in the bottom of the second with a four-spot of their own. Lipe, Hudson and Lazor led off the inning with the rare back-to-back-to-back home run combination to start the comeback attempt. Later in the inning, senior catcher Parker Hills scored on a David Aherne groundout to cut the Spiders' lead in half.

Hudson added another solo shot in the bottom of the third inning for Lafayette, but that would be the end of the scoring for either team the rest of the way. Schwartz calmed down after the two-inning Richmond outburst and didn't allow a base runner over his next three frames of work.

Three Leopard relievers - Alex Farina, Ryan Callanan and Connor McMahon - then combined for four scoreless innings to give Lafayette a chance in the ninth. Two singles in the Leopards' last at-bat brought the tying run to the plate, but Richmond's Ray Harron induced a game-ending double play to stop the threat and pick up the save.

Richmond starter Robbie Baker earned his second victory, while Schwartz took his first loss for Lafayette.

Weather permitting, the Leopards will be back in action next weekend when they travel to the University of Delaware for a three-game set. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., and a single game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.

It should also be noted that this Tuesday's scheduled neutral-site game with Rider at Diamond Nation in Flemington, N.J., has been cancelled due to field conditions.