Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The Le Moyne College baseball team dropped their Saturday afternoon contest against the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights at The Ripken Experience Complex by a score of 6-4.

"I think that our bullpen has been performing pretty well up to this point and holding the other teams down once we get in to the 'pen portion of the game, we just haven't had any timely hitting up to this point. We're getting some guys on base and we're just not bringing them in. I'm not too worried right now, it's early in the season and some guys are having some pretty good at-bats. Once we get a few more games under our belt – we pick it back up tomorrow – hopefully we'll be able to cash in some runners when it matters," said Le Moyne Head Coach Scott Cassidy '98 after the game.

Bridgeport was the designated home team for Saturday afternoon's non-conference battle, and the Purple Knights started the game with three consecutive infield singles to load the bases with zero outs. A sacrifice fly to right field gave the Purple Knights an early 1-0 advantage, then Le Moyne junior starting right-handed pitcher Jacob Marshall (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) recorded two strikeouts to end the inning.

In his second start of the season, Marshall went 4.0 innings and allowed four runs.

Marshall struck out the first two Bridgeport batters during the top of the second, then walked a batter, gave up a single and walked another batter to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Fletcher to score and make it 2-0 in favor of the Purple Knights, then Marshall got a ground ball to the right side to end the inning.

Le Moyne senior first baseman Ty Syta (Hamburg, N.Y./St. Francis) hit the ball high in the air towards shallow right field to lead off the bottom of the 2^nd, and the Bridgeport second baseball could not make the catch, allowing Syta to reach safely. Syta advanced to second on a wild pitch to give Le Moyne a runner in scoring position with zero outs. Later in the inning, junior center fielder Zach Brush (New York Mills, N.Y./Utica Notre Dame) drew a two-out walk to put a runner on first and second base, then graduate catcher Drew Fureno (Canajoharie, N.Y./Fort Plain) hit a rope to left field, driving in Syta for an RBI single. Brady Fureno (Canajoharie, N.Y./Fort Plain) came to the plate next as Le Moyne's designated hitter, and the sophomore hit the ball even deeper into left field for another RBI single, tying the game at 2-2.

Pascale knocked a leadoff single for the Purple Knights in the top of the 3^rd, then later scored on a ground ball to the right side. The Purple Knights drew a walk, then hit a single to put runners on first and third. During the next at-bat, the runner at first made a break for second base, and after the throw down from Drew Fureno, the runner at third came home to score to give the Purple Knights a 4-2 advantage.

In the bottom of the 3^rd inning, Le Moyne senior shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) got out in front of a changeup and hit the ball down the right field line for a one-out double. Syta moved Nevins to third with a slow ground ball to the third baseman, then Nevins scored on a passed ball to cut the 'Phins deficit in half. With two outs and the bases empty, graduate third baseman Derrick Miller (Westernville, N.Y./Rome Free Academy/Hudson Valley C.C.) got himself in scoring position by drawing a walk and then stealing second base. Sophomore left fielder Jason Boule (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse)) brought Miller around to score with an RBI ground rule double that bounced over the right field fence to tie the game at 4-4.

Sophomore right-hander Matt Tarby (Liverpool, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) took over on the mound for Marshall before the top of the 5^th and got three ground balls to get through the inning. A leadoff triple by Leigh in the top of the 6^th followed by a single to right field gave the Purple Knights a 5-4 lead.

The Purple Knights got a leadoff base hit in the top of the 7^th, but Drew Fureno threw behind the runner and picked him off during the next at-bat for the first out of the inning. Tarby got a ground ball and a fly out to end his day's work.

Le Moyne senior left-hander Ryan DuBord (Old Saybrook, Conn./Old Saybrook) took the mound for the top of the 8^th and delivered a 1-2-3 inning.

The 'Phins were unable to put a runner in scoring position during the bottom of the 8^th, and the Purple Knights tacked on an insurance run during the top of the 9^th to make it 6-4.

Brush led off the bottom of the 9^th and smoked a line drive right at the center fielder who caught the ball for out number one. Drew Fureno hit a one-out double down the right field line, but back-to-back flyouts ended the game and gave the Purple Knights a 6-4 victory.

Following the loss, the Dolphins dropped to 2-5 on the season, while Bridgeport improved to 2-1.

The Le Moyne College baseball team will finish up their weekend trip to Myrtle Beach with a 9:00 a.m. battle against Molloy College on Sunday morning at The Ripken Experience Complex.