THE BASICS 

Score: 
No. 2 Lesley University, 4 vs. No. 3 SUNY Cobleskill, 6 (13 inn.)
No. 2 Lesley University, 3 vs. No. 4 Eastern Nazarene College, 7

Records: 
Lesley Lynx (23-16, 13-5 NAC)
Cobleskill Fighting Tigers (17-21, 10-3 NAC)
ENC Lions (13-20-1, 9-6 NAC)

Location: Cobleskill, N.Y. – Fighting Tiger Field

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2024

THE LEAD – No. 2 Lesley University dropped a pair of North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament games on Thursday afternoon to put an abrupt end to an impressive 2024 campaign. The Lynx fell in heartbreaking fashion in their tourney opener to No. 3 SUNY Cobleskill, dropping a 6-4 decision in 13 innings before running out of steam in the first elimination game of the action to No. 4 Eastern Nazarene College, 7-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 1 vs SUNY Cobleskill)

• The Fighting Tigers trailed 4-2 going into the eighth inning when with one out, senior third baseman David Flora hit a prodigious home run over the left field scoreboard with junior second base Stephen Tejada on board to tie the game at 4-4 where it remained after nine innings to send the contest into extra frames.
• The Lynx had a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with two outs but the hosts got out of the jam to force extras.
• The score remained knotted at 4-4 after 12 innings when senior right fielder Samuel Gutierrez led-off the 13^th inning with a home run to centerfield to give Cobleskill a 5-4 advantage.
• The Fighting Tigers then added an insurance run in the inning when senior designated hitter Matthew Snyder went to second on a wild pitch then scored on a double by junior centerfielder Zach Ducorsky that made it 6-4.
• SUNY Cobleskill opened the scoring with a run in the second on a sac flu by Ducorsky to make it 1-0 before Gutierrez doubled the lead to 2-0 in the third on an RBI single.
• Lesley did all its damage in the fifth inning, plating four runs to flip the score to 4-2 in its favor. Ian Dempsey drilled a single to center and following an error on the play, Kevin Dorsey and Jake Samela came around to tie the game at 2-2. Dempsey gave LU the 3-2 lead when he crossed the plate on a sac fly from Justin Dennett and the final run came on an RBI single by James Brandon to knock home Ian Kallagher to account for the 4-2 score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 1)

• Despite the setback, Lesley outhit the Fighting Tigers 14-9 on the day but stranded 12 runners on base.
• Junior reliever Jason Treffiletti shut the door on the Lynx completing a scoreless 4 2/3 inning relief outing to improve to 5-1 overall on the campaign.
• Offensively the Fighting Tigers were led by the trio of Flora who went 3-for-6 with a double, a home run, a stolen base, two runs scored and a pair of RBI, Gutierrez who was 2-for-5 with a walk, a home run and two RBI and Ducorsky who was 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI.
• Jake Samela enjoyed a 4-for-4 day to pace Lesley while Adam Budorick finished with three hits.  Kallagher and Brandon added two hits each for the Lynx.
• Dylan Langston threw well for Lesley working 7.1 innings and scattering six hits while striking out four in a no-decision. Patrick Teasdale fired a scoreless inning of work in relief. Jacob Nemergut (6-4) took the loss working 4.1 innings and surrendering two runs on three hits and three walks.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GM 2 vs. ENC)

• Eastern Nazarene produced two runs in the home half of the first inning to snag a 2-0 edge.
• The Lions added two runs in the second to double their advantage to 4-0.
• Eastern Nazarene scored twice in the fourth inning to stretch the margin to 6-0.
• Lesley manufactured a pair of runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-2 on a two-RBI single by Budorick.
• The Lions picked up a run in the bottom of the eighth to push their lead to 7-2.
• The Lynx chalked up one run in the top of the ninth inning but Eastern Nazarene held on to prevail 7-3. The LU run came on an RBI single to left by Brandon in his final collegiate at-bat.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (GM 2)

• For the second straight game, Lesley outhit its opponent in the setback, this time by a 9-8 margin.
• Francis Ferguson and Elvis Rojas both notched two hits, one RBI, one run scored, and a stolen base for ENC while Anderson Jimenez finished with one base knock, one RBI, one run scored, and one stolen base.
• Caden Shott was the only Lynx to register a multi-hit outing going 2-for-4
• Both Dorsey and Boone Scherer collected hits in their only at-bats of the game for LU.
• Luke Descheneaux hurled his second complete game of the spring and registered five strikeouts to pick up the win for the Lions.
• Logan Watts threw well for Lesley and was a victim of a few costly errors in the field. He worked 5.0 innings and surrendered six runs (two earned) on seven hits, striking out five. Brian Jacobus worked two innings of scoreless relief to keep the game within reach.

OF NOTE

• The Lynx finish the year with 23 wins, the second highest single-season total behind the 2018 campaign when that year's squad finished with 27 victories.

UP NEXT

• Cobleskill are next scheduled to meet the top seeded Hawks of Husson University on Friday May 10 at Fighting Tiger Field with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM.
• ENC will face the loser of that game in the elimination bracket finale, with the winner advancing to the 2024 NAC Baseball Championship series.