Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Cornell College

DAVENPORT, Fla. - The Elms College Baseball team played Cornell College, Iowa in a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday as a part of the RussMatt Invitational.

BASICS
Game 1
Score: Elms College 9 | Cornell College 1
Records: Blazers 4-3, 0-0 (GNAC) | Rams 4-5, 0-0 (MWC)

Game 2
Score: Elms College 1 | Cornell College 4
Records: Blazers 4-4, 0-0 (GNAC) | Rams 5-5, 0-0 (MWC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Sal Ortiz (Springfield, Mass.) would take the mound for Elms in the first game of the doubleheader. In the top of the first inning, Cornell would hit a single, but in the next at bat, a ground ball would be hit to sophomore outfielder Liam Pond (Holyoke, Mass.), throw to junior infielder/pitcher Andrew Ciaglo (Hadley, Mass.) to first year infielder Colin Faber (Suffield, Conn.) for the 3-6-4 double play to end the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, with the bases loaded, following first year Anthony Osella (Manchester, Conn.) earned a walk and would steal second base, first year outfielder Raynel Rodriguez (San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) would reach base on an error, and senior outfielder/pitcher Nason Busca (Windsor, Conn.) would be hit by a pitch, sophomore infielder/pitcher Brycen Diaz (Andrews, Texas) would hit a grand slam to left field for his first home run of the season. In the top of the second, the Blazers' defense would prevent the Rams from getting a hit, recording a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom of the second inning, junior catcher Nicky Calvanese (Longmeadow, Mass.) would be hit by a pitch, and Osella would hit a single to center field, but the Elms offense would not be able to extend their lead. In the top of the third inning, Ortiz would give up a leadoff single, but Ciaglo would scoop up a ground, toss the ball to Faber at second base, and throw the ball to Pond at first base for the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the third, B.Diaz would hit a sacrifice fly to center field that would drive in Busca for a run. In the top of the fourth inning, Ortiz would strike out the lead-off batter swinging and give Cornell another scoreless inning. In the bottom half of the inning, junior infielder Manny Essley (Duxbury, Mass.) would hit a single to center field, would steal second base, and would advance to third base on a wild pitch, followed by a walk to Calvanese. Moments later, Rodriguez would hit a single to center field and both runners would cross the plate to extend the lead for the Blazers, 7-0. In the top of the fifth inning, Ortiz would once again strike out the lead-off batter swinging. Unfortunately, after a double to left field, the Rams would score their first run of the game. In the bottom of the fifth, B.Diaz and Essley would each earn a walk, and Ciaglo would hit a single to right field. Shortly thereafter, Faber would hit a single through the right side of the infield that would drive-in B.Diaz and Ciaglo to bring the score to 9-1. In the sixth and seventh innings, the Elms defense would continue to hold strong, where Ortiz would record a swinging strikeout to record the final out of the game and secure the 9-1 victory in the opening game of the day.

Game 2
In the top of the first inning, Rodriguez would earn a walk, but the Blazers would not score. Senior pitcher Justin Saad (Waterford, Conn.) would take the ball for Elms in the bottom half of the inning, striking out a batter looking and keeping the game scoreless. In the top of the second, senior outfielder Noah Scanlon-Dean (Hadley, Mass.) would hit a single past the second baseman and would advance to second base on a wild pitch, but once again the Blazers would be unable to score in the inning. In the bottom of the second, Saad would end the inning by striking out another batter swinging. In the top of the third inning, Faber would reach base on an error by the Rams shortstop, followed by a walk to Osella. Faber would then score the following at-bat, when Rodriguez would reach base on an error by the third baseman, for the first run of the game. In the bottom half of the third, Saad would strike out a third batter, but the Cornell bats would awaken and drive in three runs to take the lead. The Rams would silence the Elms bats in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, junior pitcher Ryan Ziegler (Uncasville, Conn.) would come into the game to relieve Saad, and he would strike out back-to-back batters and give the Rams a scoreless inning of their own. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Cornell would score a final run, to extend their lead to 4-1. First year pitcher Brady Petto (Dedham, Mass.) would relieve Ziegler in the sixth inning, but in the top of the sixth and seventh innings, the Blazers would be unable to score, and the Rams would take the second game, 4-1, and the two teams would split the doubleheader.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rodriguez: two runs batted-in, a hit, a run scored, and a walk.

• B.Diaz: five runs batted-in, a hit, with a home run, two runs scored, and a walk.

• Ciaglo: a hit, a run scored, and two walks, with two double plays.

• Faber: a hit, two runs batted-in, and a run scored, with two double plays.

• Ortiz: would pitch seven innings, with three strikeouts and six scoreless innings.

• Essley: a hit, a run scored, and a walk, with a stolen base.

• Saad: would pitch three innings, with three strikeouts.

• Ziegler: would pitch two innings, with two strikeouts.

• Osella: a hit, a run scored, and two walks.

• Calvanese: a run scored and a walk.

• Busca: two runs scored.

• Petto: would pitch an inning.

• Pond: two double plays.

• Scanlon-Dean: a hit.

UP NEXT: The Elms Baseball team will travel to Auburndale, Fla. for a non-conference doubleheader against Martin Luther College on Saturday, March 14th at 9:45 & 11:15 am to conclude their spring break.

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