NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team suffered a pair of setbacks to the Lions of Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday night, falling in game one by a final score of 25-3 before losing the nightcap by a final score of 2-0.
Matt Lewczyk (Windsor, Conn.) led the Falcons with three hits in the doubleheader, while Matthew Silverstein (Shelton, Conn.) and Alex Kozlowski (Shelton, Conn.) each had scoreless outings on the mound for the Falcons in game two.
THE BASICS
FINAL (G1): Eastern Nazarene 25 | Albertus Magnus 3
FINAL (G2): Eastern Nazarene 2 | Albertus Magnus 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (9-22) | Eastern Nazarene (19-15-1)
LOCATION: Rochford Field
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 1
Eastern Nazarene wasted no time getting runs up on the scoreboard as the Lions scored nine runs in the top of the first and five runs in the top of the second to take a commanding 14-0 lead over the Falcons.
The Lions added to their advantage with 10 runs over the next four innings. ENC tallied one run in the third, four in the fourth and fifth innings, and one more in the sixth.
The Albertus offense came alive in the bottom of the sixth when AMC put three runs up on the scoreboard. Shawn Smith (Shelton, Conn.) led off the inning with a walk before Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) sent a double down the right-field line. Then, Anthony Broadhurst (Stratford, Conn.) brought everyone home with a three-run homer down the right-field line.
Eastern Nazarene added one more in the top of the seventh to put the finishing touches on a 25-3 non-conference victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Spencer Boynton (W, 6-2) - 6.0 Innings | 6 Hits | 3 Runs | 5 Walks | 14 Strikeouts
- LP: Jayden Cumbo (Plainville, Conn.) (L, 1-3) - 0.2 Innings | 8 Hits | 8 Runs | 0 Walks | 1 Strikeout
- Albertus was led offensively by Lewczyk and Warren, who each recorded two hits.
- Broadhurst finished with a team-leading three RBIs on a home run with a run scored.
HOW IT HAPPENED - Game 2
After two scoreless innings, Eastern Nazarene put the first run up on the scoreboard behind an RBI sacrifice fly to center field from Tyler Bean. The Falcons put two on in the bottom of the second inning but could not score off of Lions' hurler Morgan Weast.
Lewczyk singled with one out in the third but was stranded when Weast retired the next two hitters.
Weast held the Falcons in check after the third inning, retiring 10 straight batters before Sean Jefferson (West Haven, Conn.) singled with one out in the seventh inning. Weast was unfazed, retiring the final two hitters to put the finishing touches on a 2-0 complete-game shutout.
The Falcons' pitching was the highlight of the game, as Silverstein started on the mound and threw 2.0 scoreless innings, with one strikeout, before giving way to Michael Pepe (Cheshire, Conn.). Pepe followed with 2.0 innings of one-run ball before handing the ball off to Kozlowski, who held the Lions scoreless for 2.0 innings of his own. Smith threw the final frame for AMC and permitted one run on one hit.
TOP PERFORMERS
- WP: Morgan Weast (W, 4-4) - 7.0 Innings | 2Hits | 0 Runs | 1 Walk | 12 Strikeouts
- LP: Michael Pepe (L, 0-2) - 2.0 Innings | 3 Hits | 1 Run | 1 Walk | 0 Strikeouts
- Lewczyk and Jefferson each collected hits for the Falcons.
- Yandy James (Paterson, N.J.) reached base with a walk.
NOTEWORTHY
- Today's doubleheader marked the first time the Falcons and Lions have met.
- Lewczyk is on a six-game hitting streak.
- Broadhurst hit his first career home run in game one.
- Silverstein has thrown a team-leading 29 strikeouts.
- Kozlowski's scoreless appearance tonight was his sixth of the season.
- Jefferson has a hit in three of his last four games.
UP NEXT
The baseball team returns to the diamond on Saturday, April 30th, with a critical home doubleheader against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Elms College. The opening game of the twin bill is slated to start at 12:00 PM followed by a 2:30 PM game two start time at Rochford Field.