The baseball team took on Davidson College in a three-game series this past weekend, notching its first win of the season on Friday but suffering blowout defeats on Saturday and Sunday.
Continuing to struggle with slow starts, the Leopards (1-9 overall) fell to an early 2-0 deficit through the first three innings against the Wildcats (4-7 overall). However, a strong fourth inning saw the Maroon and White take control.
Senior corner infielder Michael Zarillo was walked on the opening at-bat of the inning, and freshman outfielder Jack Mislan’s single sent Zarillo to second base. Freshman first baseman Liam Ebbs’ ground out advanced the runners to second and third, followed by another single from junior outfielder Bode Grieve that sent Zarillo home for the first Leopards’ score of the game.
The Maroon and White kept the hits coming, as freshman infielder Alex Barrist sent Mislan home on a bunt and Grieve scored on the subsequent play, despite the double-out sending it to the bottom of the fourth.
Although the teams traded blows in the fifth and sixth innings, a Mislan double in the seventh brought home two runners for the Leopards to extend their lead to 7-4. The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit in the closing periods, but the Maroon and White held on to win 7-6 and secure their first victory.
However, the Leopards could not continue the momentum and struggled in Saturday’s contest, losing via mercy rule through eight innings.
Mislan’s effective at-bats continued, as his single to left field brought home the first of two scores to the Maroon and White in the opening inning. However, Davidson dominated the frame, pouring together an offensive onslaught of five runs en route to a lead.
A 2-0 sixth inning made it an 8-4 deficit, but the Wildcats again rallied a five-score inning in the eighth, making it a 15-5 mercy-rule defeat for the Maroon and White.
Sunday’s outing was more of the same. The Leopards were again obliterated in the opening frame, giving up yet another five-score inning to the Wildcats. The Maroon and White failed to put up a fight, scoring just one run in which Barrist ran home off a ground-out from sophomore infielder Matt Colella, as Davidson remained in control to take a 9-1 win.
The Leopards have a series of games this week, facing off against UMass Lowell (3-6 overall), Richmond University (10-2 overall) and Manhattan University (4-7 overall).
All members of the baseball team did not respond to requests for comment. All coaches either denied or did not respond to requests for comment.
