Saturday, May 7
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
23-27
8
vs
2
Immaculata
21-18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Immaculata
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
7
5
Lehigh
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
1
X
8
10
1
Mountain Hawks take two from Immaculata in final regular-season tune-up
5/7/2016 6:48:00 PM | Baseball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh baseball team used a pair of big sixth innings to break open close contests and capture 8-2 and 11-2 wins against visiting Immaculata in a Saturday doubleheader at Legacy Park. The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season having won 10 of their last 11 games and move to 24-27 overall, while Immaculata falls to 21-19.
"I thought Immaculata played very hard and made us earn everything we had to get, so I really compliment them on the way they came out and competed today," said head coach Sean Leary. "We trusted that what we do in our system will work and it took a little bit of time to put up some offensive numbers, but we got some small ball and big two-out hits. We competed really well on the mound with quality starts and some good relief apperances."
Pitching was strong throughout the day as the Lehigh hurlers combined to hold the Mighty Macs to four runs through 18 innings of play. Starting pitchers Kevin Long and Peter Moore earned the wins on the mound, while freshman Ethan Frohman picked up a three-inning save in the day's opener.
Lehigh outhit Immaculata 26-13 in the two games combined. Sophomore James Bleming led the Mountain Hawks with a 5-for-9 showing at the plate, five RBI, three doubles and two runs scored. Senior Mackey Price and juniors John Scarr and David Young each recorded three hits on the day. Sophomore Ryan Bonshak recorded three RBI, while junior Jacen Nalesnik scored a team-best four runs.
After a scoreless first inning in the day's opener, the Mighty Macs were able to get on the board first in the top of the second by scoring an unearned run on a Lehigh throwing error on a double steal. Lehigh answered in the bottom of the frame when Price drew a two-out walk before Bonshak poked a single through the left side and Price's heads-up base running allowed him to run all the way home and tie the game at 1-1 through two.
Both teams were kept scoreless in the next two innings before senior Mike Garzillo took first on a catcher's interference with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Garzillo stole second as the throw from Immaculata's catcher sailed into center and Garzillo was able to run home to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead.
After the first two innings, Long kept the Mighty Macs hitless for the next four frames and finished his strong six-inning outing with a line of one unearned run on three hits with five strikeouts. Young then opened the bottom of the sixth with a base hit before Scarr was hit by a pitch. A pair of bunt singles from senior Anthony Rinaldi and Price followed, as well as an Immaculata throwing error, to score Young and Scarr. Nalesnik then reached first on a two-out error before Bleming and Garzillo followed with back-to-back doubles that gave Lehigh a 7-1 lead through six frames.
Frohman took the mound in relief of Long to start the top of the seventh. The Mighty Macs used a pair of hits to get one run back and pull within 7-2, but Lehigh countered in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single from Bleming that scored Nalesnik to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 8-2. Frohman then kept Immaculata scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the three-inning save and 8-2 Lehigh victory.
The Mighty Macs struck first in the nightcap as Immaculata loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the first. Moore got Immaculata to line into a double play, but Jason McCormick then scored on a wild pitch with two outs to give the Mighty Macs an early 1-0 lead.
The Mountain Hawks scattered two hits through the first four frames before Nalesnik sent a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth. Bleming then reached on a fielding error before a Garzillo RBI base hit up the middle tied the game at 1-1.
Following the first inning, Moore surrendered just one hit in his final five frames before Lehigh was able to take the lead with an eight-run sixth inning. Young sent a one-out single to left in the bottom of the sixth before Scarr followed with a base knock through the right side. Freshman Jeff Shanfeldt stepped up and smoked a double to left to score Young as the go-ahead run. Price followed with an RBI infield single before a Nalesnik two-out walk loaded the bases. Bleming worked a full count and then knocked a bases-clearing double off the left field fence to put Lehigh ahead 6-1. A Donnelly two-run base hit and RBI single from Scarr added on three more runs as Lehigh broke open a 9-1 game through six frames.
Boswick took the mound in relief and hurled a perfect top of the seventh before surrendering one run in the eighth. A two-run single from Bonshak plated Garzillo and freshman Thomas Schumacher in the bottom of the eighth to run the Lehigh lead to 11-2. Young then took the mound in the top of the ninth for his first pitching appearance of the season and got a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to secure the 11-2 win for Lehigh.
Moore finished with a line of one run on three hits with two strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work to pick up his team-leading sixth win of the season.
Lehigh will now turn its focus to preparing for next weekend's Patriot League Semifinals. The third-seeded Mountain Hawks will head to No. 2 Holy Cross for a best-of-three series Saturday and Sunday. A 1 p.m. doubleheader will be played Saturday with Sunday's if necessary game also slated for a 1 p.m. start. Free video of the semifinal series will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Long, Kevin (3-4)
L: Stringham, Collin (0-1)
S: Frohman, Ethan (2)
Batting:
RBI: Wyckoff, Chuck 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ficca, Ryan 1 ; Richards, Coleman 1
SB: Ficca, Ryan 1 ; Ficca, Dom 1
PO: Lascomb, Mike 1
Batting:
2B: Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Bleming, James 1 ; Garzillo, Mike 1
RBI: Bleming, James 2 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Price, Mackey 1 ; Bonshak, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nalesnik, Jacen 2 ; Bleming, James 1 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Young, David 1 ; Scarr, John 1 ; Rinaldi, Anthony 1 ; Price, Mackey 1
SB: Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Bleming, James 1 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Bonshak, Ryan 1
HBP: Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Scarr, John 1
Game Leaders
cf/lf
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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RHP
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LHP
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SS
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OF
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C
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1B/3B
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C
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P/IF
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