Young Harris, Ga. – Freshman righty Damian Powers (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) struck out four over eight innings in his collegiate debut to lead the Le Moyne College baseball team to an 8-2 win over Young Harris College on Sunday afternoon in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader at Zell B. Miller Field. The Mountain Lions rallied from a five-run deficit in the nightcap to win 12-7.

The Dolphins struck first in the opening game with a run on two hits in the first inning. Freshman center fielder Donato DiNorcia (Naples, Fla./Seacrest Country Day) singled to right field with one out and moved to third on a single to center by sophomore shortstop Dylan Swetman (Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima). Sophomore first baseman Pat Wright (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) then reached on a fielder's choice to knock in DiNorcia.

Young Harris answered back in the bottom of the inning by scoring once without getting a hit. Center fielder Josh Rudnik struck out to start the inning, but reached on a passed ball. After third baseman Adam Moore reached on an error and the duo moved up a base on a wild pitch, Rudnik scored as designated hitter Jack Morrow reached on an error by the shortstop.

The Mountain Lions took the lead with a run on two hits and a Le Moyne error in the third inning. Rudnik doubled and Moore reached on an error by the shortstop to open the frame. After Rudnik was caught stealing third, Morrow singled to left to drive in Moore.

Le Moyne evened the score at two with a run in the fourth inning. Senior left fielder Nate Reynolds (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) drew a walk to open the inning and took third as junior third baseman Max Nagelsmith (Duanesburg, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) reached on an error by the second baseman. Freshman catcher Matt Buroni (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) then lifted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Reynolds.

The Dolphins took the lead in the fifth inning with four runs on four hits and two Young Harris errors. DiNorcia led off by reaching on a throwing error by the shortstop, stole second and then came around to score on a double to left center by Swetman. Wright followed by blasting a two-run homer over the fence in left center. After Reynolds tripled to right center with one out, he scored on a ground out by Nagelsmith.

Le Moyne added a run on two hits and an error in the sixth inning. Following a single by DiNorcia and a double to right center by Swetman to open the frame, Wright reached on an error by the shortstop to plate DiNorcia.

The Dolphins added an insurance run on one hit and an error in the ninth inning. Nagelsmith reached on a throwing error by the shortstop to start the inning and then moved to second on a ground out. After an out, sophomore second baseman Brett Charbonneau (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) singled to right center to knock in Nagelsmith.

Powers struck out four batters, while allowing just the two unearned runs on three hits over eight innings pitched to earn his first career victory. Swetman finished the game with three hits, while Wright drove in four runs and DiNorcia scored three times. Justin Cooper suffered the loss for the Mountain Lions after giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks over five innings.

In the nightcap, the Dolphins scored four runs on three hits and two Young Harris errors in the first inning. Charbonneau reached on an error by the third baseman to start the game and DiNorcia followed with a single to center. After an out and a walk by Wright to load the bases, sophomore catcher Trey West (Fairport, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) singled to center to drive in Charbonneau and DiNorcia. Reynolds then reached on an error by the second baseman, which allowed Wright and West to score.

Le Moyne extended its lead to 5-0 with a run on two hits in the third inning. Following an out to start the inning, West and Reynolds singled to right field and Nagelsmith walked to load the bases. West then raced home on a passed ball.

Young Harris cut its deficit to one in the bottom of the inning with four runs on three hits. Shortstop Zach Odom and Moore drew walks around a double by Rudnik to start the frame. Morrow then doubled to left center to knock in Odom, Rudnik and Moore. After a bunt single, a hit batsman and an out, right fielder Trey Rogers lifted a sacrifice fly to left to plate Morrow.

The Dolphins pushed their lead back to three with a pair of runs on three hits in the fourth inning. Swetman singled to third base with one out and then advanced to second on a passed ball. After a single to left by Wright, West singled to score Swetman. Following a walk by Reynolds, Nagelsmith grounded out to the second baseman to drive in Wright.

The Mountain Lions took the lead by scoring eight runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth inning. Left fielder David Atwood singled to right center, first baseman Dom Wyshinski was hit by a pitch and second baseman Tom Valichka drew a walk to open the inning and force a Le Moyne pitching change. On the first pitch he saw, Rogers lifted a sacrifice fly into foul territory in left field to knock in Atwood. Catcher Bowen Klosinski then singled to drive in Wyshinski and Valichka to tie the score at seven. After a walk by Odom and a passed ball to move the runners to second and third, Rudnik grounded out to the shortstop to plate pinch-runner Spencer Thomas with the go-ahead run. Following a walk by Moore, Morrow singled to center field to knock in Odom. Atwood then singled to center to drive in Moore and Morrow. Two batters later, Valichka singled to center to score Atwood with the game's final run.

Freshman Ben Walsh (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) suffered the loss for the Dolphins after yielding five runs on four hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning out of the bullpen. West recorded three of Le Moyne's 10 hits, while he and Wright each scored twice. Tyler Isbell picked up the win out of the bullpen by tossing two innings, while allowing two runs on three hits.

Le Moyne (1-2) completes its season-opening four-game series with the Mountain Lions on Monday at 12:00 p.m.