The baseball team battled in a three-game road series against Army West Point last weekend, dropping all three games. The sweep moved the Leopards down to 0-5 against Army on the season. The team bounced back, however, with a 14-13 shootout victory over Wagner College on Tuesday.
Entering the weekend at .500 in Patriot League play, the Leopards (8-11 Patriot League, 13-29 overall) surrendered a 4-0 lead in game one to the Black Knights (13-9 Patriot League, 19-20 overall) after three innings with five hits off of senior right-handed pitcher Joe Skapinetz.
A throwing error on a fielder’s choice hit by junior outfielder Bode Grieve in the top of the fourth put the Leopards on the board, plating two unearned runs. The momentum was short-lived, however, as the Maroon and White were shut out for the rest of the game en route to a 5-2 loss.
“When you’re coming off of a high, like the game against Lehigh where we just did everything very well, it’s easy to just believe that that’s the norm,” head coach A.J. Miller said. “I just didn’t prepare us well enough to come out and play our best brand of baseball.”
Game two saw the Black Knights jump out to another early lead, kicking off with a four-run first frame. They added insurance in the fourth, controlling a 6-0 lead.
The Leopard bats heated up in the sixth, stringing five base hits to cut into the deficit. A pair of seventh-inning RBIs from Grieve and sophomore outfielder Teddy Cashman closed the gap to two, but a three-run Army home run reversed the damage and paved the way to a 9-4 finish to sweep the doubleheader.
“People are going to hit home runs, we’re going to make mistakes,” Miller said. “That’s just baseball, but you have to be able to rebound from that.”
Junior catcher Ethan Swidler clutched the Leopards’ first lead of the weekend in the series finale, courtesy of a lead-off left-center moonshot. The Black Knights swiftly responded to a Leopard error and multiple RBIs in the bottom of the frame.
The 3-1 lead was short-lived as freshman outfielder Jack Mislan went yard on a two-run shot, followed by Swidler’s second RBI of the game. A fourth-inning sacrifice fly from senior outfielder Easton Brenner extended the Leopards’ lead to 5-3.
A pair of sixth-inning sacrifice flies tied the game up at five apiece, which was quickly broken up by a Grieve RBI-single in the next frame. Senior right-handed pitcher Mike Romano took the mound in the eighth to hold onto the lead, but Army managed a two-run double for the game-winning score, tallying a 7-6 finish.
“To give Army credit, they’re a very good team,” Miller said. “We still have six conference games left. We still control our own destiny, and that’s all you could ask.”
Tuesday’s out-of-conference matchup saw 17 different pitchers across both teams take the mound in a bullpen game that produced 26 total hits. Grieve homered twice, and the Leopards took advantage of six Wagner (22-15 overall) errors to edge out the victory.
Grieve kicked off with his first home run of the game in the second inning. After the Seahawks knotted the score, sophomore infielder Matt Colella, Cashman and senior catcher Kaleb Willis all knocked RBI-singles to take a 5-1 lead.
Despite the surrendered run, the Leopard infield turned several double plays early on to keep additional damage off the board.
“It’s huge for momentum, but also it’s something that we’ve been emphasizing a lot,” Colella said. “So to be able to actually do it today was big for confidence and being the best version of ourselves.”
A three-run top of the fourth did not stop the Maroon and White’s momentum, as the offense turned in another four-run inning. After two more innings of exchanging RBIs, including a Willis solo home run, the Leopards led 11-7.
Wagner pulled within two after the seventh and ultimately took their first lead on an eighth-inning three-run home run to right field. By the bottom of the frame, the Seahawks had already exhausted their bullpen, bringing position players to the mound.
Grieve immediately took advantage, blasting his second home run of the day. Freshman infielder Boden Fernsler laced an RBI left-field double to knot it at 13, and was driven in by Swidler on a right-field single for the game-deciding score.
“Just staying composed and just knowing anyone can produce at any time,” Colella said about the offensive opportunities. “We’re going to compete and we’re never out of any game.”
The Leopards will resume Patriot League play this weekend, embarking on a three-game road trip against Holy Cross (12-7 Patriot League, 21-21 overall).
