QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team erased a one-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning, utilizing a five-run outburst to propel the Lions to a 7-4 non-conference win over Lesley University in a cold, rain soaked afternoon at Bradley Field.The victory lifts the Lions to 6-14 on the season and snaps a seven-game skid. The Lynx fall to 6-13 overall with the result.
The game, originally scheduled for nine innings, was called in the middle of the seventh inning to due rain and hail.
John Oglesby (Hartsville, Tenn.) paced the hosts with two base hits and three RBIs on the day. Pat Yee (Lynnfield, Mass.) landed a pair of base knocks and drove in one RBI. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) recorded one hit, two RBIs and one run scored. Joe Cardaropoli (Agawam, Mass.) and Miguel Ortiz (New Britain, Conn.) each crossed the plate twice.
Senior David Hersey (Wolfeboro, N.H.) led the Lynx as he finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and one run scored. Classmate Kevin Hopwood (Winter Haven, Fla.) collected a pair of hits as he went 2-for-3 with a walk while sophomore Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
The visitors struck first in the game, plating the first run of the afternoon in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Hersey led off the inning with a double to centerfield and motored home as Gustavo Polidor (Caracas, Venezuela) reached on an error.
Eastern Nazarene captured a 2-1 edge with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Cardaropoli tagged up and scored from third base as Fiorentino lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game. Oglesby followed with a single up the middle to drive in Ortiz.
Lesley answered with a pair of scores in the top of the sixth to regain a one-run advantage, 3-2. Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) crossed the dish as Hersey reached base on an error before Robert Parson plated Slaby with a single up the middle.
The Lions generated five runs in the home half of the sixth inning to establish a 7-3 lead. Rocco Martinelli (Panama City, Panama) trotted home as Cardaropoli drew a bases-loaded walk on four straight pitches. Fiorentino picked up his team-leading 11th RBI as he worked up a full-count before walking on a pitch in the dirt with the bases full to drive in Kurt Picarelli (Montrose, N.Y.). Oglesby sliced a single down the right field line to score Cardaropoli and Ortiz. Yee capped off the scoring as he scorched a double down the line in left field to plate Fiorentino.
The Lynx narrowed the margin to 7-4 in the seventh when Hersey landed an RBI single in right and Slaby crossed the plate, but that was all the Lynx could muster and the Lions hung on for the win.
Brandon Wynne (New Haven, Conn.) pitched 5.2 innings in his second start on the hill and racked up six strikeouts while allowing just one earned run. Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) made his team-leading ninth appearance of the season, fanning one batter in 1.1 innings of action.
The Lynx will return to New England Collegiate Conference play this weekend as they host Southern Vermont College for a three-game set on Saturday and Sunday. Eastern Nazarene resumes Commonwealth Coast Conference play April 10 as it hosts Nichols at Adams Field.