Greensburg, Pa. – The Le Moyne College baseball team played a pair of thrilling non-conference contests on Thursday against the Seton Hill University Griffins.
The Dolphins won game one by a score of 3-2 with the help of a go-ahead two-RBI double from graduate first baseman
Dewey Roden (Sherrill, N.Y./Vernon-Verona-Sherrill/UMass Lowell) in the top of the eighth inning, then the Dolphins and the Griffins went to extra innings in game two.
Seton Hill senior infielder Owen Sabol delivered a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the 11
th inning to give the Griffins a 3-2 win during the second half of the doubleheader.
"The guys played great today," said Le Moyne head coach
Scott Cassidy '98 after the games. "We are down a couple starting pitchers this weekend and the arms really pitched well today, all of them. We got great starts from Sam [DiGeorge] and AJ [Petraitis], and Kennen [Smith], Eric [Swiencicki] and Jacob [Crystal] were outstanding out of the pen. Those were two good baseball games between two good teams. We'll get after it again on Saturday," Cassidy continued.
Senior right-hander
Sam DiGeorge (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) made his first start of the season during game one and held the Griffins to two runs in 6.0 innings pitched. Junior righty
Kennen Smith (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington) pitched a clean seventh inning for the 'Phins, and was credited with the win after Le Moyne took the lead in the eighth. Freshman right-hander
Eric Swiencicki (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) got the final six outs for the Dolphins while allowing just one hit and zero runs with three strikeouts to earn his second save of the season.
Zach Brush (New York Mills, N.Y./Utica Notre Dame),
Drew Carroll (Clifton Park, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy (Albany)), Roden,
Brody Keneston (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa),
Wyatt Patchett (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva),
Lukas Egenhauser (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) and
Jason Boule (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse)) each recorded a hit during the game one victory.
Freshman right-hander
AJ Petraitis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) started game two on the mound for Le Moyne and allowed just three hits in 7.0 innings pitched. Sophomore left-hander
Jacob Crystal (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) pitched 3.2 innings in relief and tallied five strikeouts.
Egenhauser provided Le Moyne with their lone RBI during the setback.
Le Moyne took a 1-0 lead in the first inning during game one after Carroll singled to left field, stole second base, and was driven in by Keneston who ripped a single to right field.
Seton Hill tied the game in the bottom of the second inning, then took a 2-1 lead in the third.
Le Moyne had a combined two base runners during third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but DiGeorge held the Griffins scoreless during his final three innings of work.
Smith worked around a walk in the seventh to keep Le Moyne's deficit at 2-1, then Boule and Brush delivered back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the eighth.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Roden turned on a pitch and hammered the ball down the right field line, driving in Boule and Brush to give the 'Phins a 3-2 lead.
Seton Hill put runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the eighth, but Swiencicki recorded two consecutive strikeouts to get out of the inning and maintain Le Moyne's lead.
The Griffins put a runner on third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Swiencicki got a ground ball to end the inning and secure the win for the 'Phins.
Seton Hill took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first in game two, then doubled their lead in the third inning.
Egenhauser provided an RBI double in the top of the fifth, and Patchett also scored on the play following a Seton Hill error.
Petraitis tallied 1-2-3 innings in both the fifth and sixth frames, then allowed just one baserunner in the seventh, his final inning of work.
Both teams put a runner in scoring position during the ninth inning, but neither could scratch across a run.
Senior catcher Vincenzo Rauso delivered a leadoff single for Seton Hill in the bottom of the 11
th, then Sabol drove him in with two outs.
The Dolphins and the Griffins will play another doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
