Myrtle Beach, S.C. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team extended its winning streak to three as the Falcons swept Lancaster Bible College on Monday afternoon in non-conference play. The Falcons dominated in game one, 15-7, before taking the nightcap from the Chargers, 5-1.
THE BASICS
FINAL (G1): Albertus Magnus 15 | Lancaster Bible 7
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (3-1) | Lancaster Bible (1-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chargers took control of the game after a scoreless second inning, putting five on the board to take a 5-0 lead. Lancaster Bible logged an RBI double and two RBI singles to highlight the inning, scoring the remaining two runs on an error and a sacrifice fly.
Brandon Clark (Cheshire, Conn.) put the Falcons on the board in the top of the third with a solo shot, his second of the season. The Chargers answered with two more runs in the bottom of the frame to take a commanding 7-1 advantage after three innings.
Albertus began to rally over the next four innings, putting runs on the board in each frame. Vincent Gualtieri (Norwich, Conn.) drove home the run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to plate Brendan Clark (North Haven, Conn.).
The Falcons brought the deficit to two runs, 7-5, with a three-run fifth. Brendan Clark smacked his second-career homer, bringing home both Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.) and Joseph Matthews (Anaheim, Calif.).
Albertus opened the floodgates in the sixth to take an 11-7 advantage. Brandon Clark scored the first of six runs for the Falcons with a two-RBI double, scoring on the next at-bat following an error. Freshman infielder Jason Sullivan (Meriden, Conn.) capped off the high-scoring frame with his first-career home run, a three-run bomb.
The Falcons padded their lead in the seventh with four more runs to seal a 15-7 victory. In the final inning, Warren continued his torrid start to the season, slapping his third homer of the year, Albertus' fourth of the game.
On the pitching mound, Brandon Fowler (Lexington, S.C.) tallied his first win of the season in relief, allowing two runs over 4.0 innings of action with three strikeouts. Shawn McFeggan (Anaheim, Calif.) got the start and fanned four batters in just 2.0 innings of work. Jay Palais (Farmington, Conn.) tossed a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two.
KEY STATS
- The Falcons owned an 18-10 advantage in hits over the Chargers.
- Brendan Clark finished the day a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI.
- Sullivan and Brendan Clark led all players with four hits each.
- Albertus tallied four home runs as a team.
NOTEWORTHY
- Sullivan hit his first career home run in today's game.
- Brendan Clark's homer is the second of his career.
- Brandon Clark tied a career-high with four RBI.
THE BASICS
FINAL (G2): Albertus Magnus 5 | Lancaster Bible 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (4-1) | Lancaster Bible (1-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons struck first in the bottom of the first inning as Warren whacked a solo home run over the outfield fence to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
The Falcons added another run in the second on a pair of Chargers' errors. Gualtieri reached on a throwing error by the shortstop and promptly stole second, before Murphy struck out and reached first on a dropped third strike and wide throw. Gualtieri scampered home on the errant play and scored the Falcons' second run of the day. A Matthew's hit-by-pitch and Clark single loaded the bases, before Warren flew out to left field to end the threat.
Junior hurler Nick Miller (Union, N.J.) continued to stymie the Chargers' lineup, retiring nine of the first eleven batters he faced through the first three innings, permitting two hits and a walk that was erased immediately on a double play in the first inning.
The Falcons added two more insurance runs in the fourth, as a pair of walks to Brendan Clark and Sullivan, and a fielder's choice for Eduardo Pena (Hamden, Conn.) put runners at the corners for Gualtieri, who singled to center field to score Clark. A bobble by the center fielder allowed Pena to score easily from second on the play and put the Falcons up 4-0.
The Chargers' Luis Padilla scored the only run of the game for the visitors in the fourth, driving a pitch from Miller over the fence. The blast didn't perturb the junior pitcher, however, as Miller retired the Chargers easily from there, inducing a pair of groundouts and a flyout to end the inning.
The Falcons retaliated immediately with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Matthews walked and quickly stole a pair of bases, before Warren delivered an RBI groundout, bringing the score to 5-1 in favor of the Falcons.
Chris Ciarleglio (North Haven, Conn.) shut down the Chargers offense the rest of the way, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings and stranding three base runners to preserve the Falcon victory.
KEY STATS
- The Falcons were a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases.
- Albertus played flawless defense, committing no errors.
- The Falcons turned three double plays in the field.
- Five different Albertus players crossed the plate.
NOTEWORTHY
- Miller picked up his first win of the season.
- Miller recorded a season-high seven strikeouts.
- Warren recorded his fifth straight multi-hit game.
- Warren led the Falcon offense, going 2-for-4 with a homerun and two RBI.
- Sullivan is hitting .636 (7-for-11) over his last three games.
