Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Junior designated hitter/first baseman Nick Place (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) hit a seventh-inning, go-ahead home run in the first game and senior outfielder/pitcher JT Pittman (Ashland, Mass./Ashland/Bridgton Academy) had a go-ahead single in the seventh inning in the nightcap to lead the Le Moyne College baseball team to a pair of wins on Saturday at The Ripken Experience's Griffith Field. The Dolphins defeated Wilmington University, 5-4, in their first game of the day and then topped Dominican College, 9-4, in the afternoon.

Senior right fielder/left fielder Brian Cox (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown) started the scoring against Wilmington with a home run to right field to begin the third inning.

The Wildcats took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs on two hits. Second baseman Max Carney led off with a single to right field, moved to third on a pair of wild pitches around a walk by designated hitter Nick Grant and then scored on a groundout by catcher Nick Macey. Right fielder Kyle Fries then singled up the middle to drive in Grant from third.

Wilmington pushed its lead to 3-1 in the fifth inning on two hits. First baseman Kendall Small singled up the middle with two outs, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single to right field by Carney.

Le Moyne scored four times in the top of the seventh on just one hit. Cox and redshirt junior first baseman/right fielder Andrew Taft (Clinton, N.Y./Clinton/Buffalo) walked with two outs and then moved up a base on a wild pitch. Junior catcher/designated hitter/third baseman Camillo Spinoso (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/George Washington) then reached on an error by the catcher on a strikeout, which allowed Cox to score. Place followed by blasting a three-run homer over the fence in left field for a 5-3 advantage.

Wilmington scored once in the bottom of the ninth, but left the tying run stranded at third base. Third baseman Brett Nowell led off with a single to the second baseman and advanced to third on a one-out double to right by shortstop Christian Adorno. Small then lifted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Nowell. Carney flew out to left field to end the game.

Freshman righty Sam Byrns (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane) earned his second win out of the bullpen by tossing two and two-thirds scoreless innings. Senior southpaw Cody Barnes (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) registered the final four outs to collect his second save of the campaign. Zach Frederick took the loss out of the bullpen after allowing Place's home run.

Cox also scored the first run in the third inning against Dominican as he walked with one out and came around to score from second on a two-out single up the middle by Spinoso.

The Dolphins doubled their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Pittman led off with a walk, stole second, took third on a single to left by redshirt junior shortstop Ben Walsh (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and scored as redshirt freshman second baseman reached on a fielder's choice.

Dominican evened the score at two apiece in the top of the fifth. Second baseman Brian Rotella was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on a two-out walk by catcher Brett Karcher-Bowen. Shortstop Joseph Libio then doubled to left center to knock in Rotella and Bowen.

The Chargers took the lead with a run in the sixth on a pair of hits. Left fielder Shota Barbeau led off with a single to third base, stole second with one out and scored on a double to right by first baseman Anthony Bartolomei.

Le Moyne regained the lead in the sixth with two runs on two hits. Walsh walked and O'Mara singled down the third baseline to open the frame. After a sacrifice bunt, Walsh scored on a sacrifice fly to center by freshman catcher Drew Fureno (Canajoharie, N.Y./Fort Plain). Cox then doubled to left to knock in O'Mara from third.

Dominican answered back in the seventh with a run on two hits to tie the score at four. Right fielder Joshua Colon led off with a single to center, took second on a sac bunt and scored on a single to center by Libio.

The Dolphins took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh with three runs on four hits. Spinoso walked and Place singled to start the frame. Following a wild pitch, Pittman singled to right to drive in Spinoso. After a pair of outs and a walk by O'Mara to put runners at the corners, freshman third baseman Michael Smith (Montebello, N.Y./Suffern) doubled to left center to knock in Place and O'Mara. Fureno followed with his first career hit, a single to left, to plate Smith.

Le Moyne tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth on two hits. Taft led off with a single to left and Spinoso followed by drawing a walk. After two outs, Walsh singled to left to send home Taft and Spinoso.

Senior righty Alex Kubera (Dunkirk, N.Y./Dunkirk/Niagara C.C.) earned his first win of the season after striking out six over seven innings, while yielding four runs on six hits. Pittman tossed two hitless innings to earn his first career save. O'Mara, Taft and Walsh each finished the game with two hits, while O'Mara scored twice and Walsh had two RBI. Jaden Diaz-Lambert took the loss after yielding four runs in one-plus innings of work.
 
Le Moyne (6-1), which is off to its best seven-game start since the 1993 season (7-0), closes out the weekend on Sunday with a non-conference game against Northeast-10 Conference foe Southern New Hampshire University at 9:00 a.m.