Sunday, April 21
Worcester, Mass.
12:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
2
at
3
Holy Cross
Lehigh falls in two low-scoring affairs against Holy Cross
4/21/2013 11:37:00 PM | Baseball
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Lehigh baseball team suffered its first series sweep of the season by falling to Holy Cross 3-2 and 4-0 in a doubleheader Sunday. The Mountain Hawks are 18-24 overall and 5-11 in Patriot League action, while the Crusaders are 22-20 overall and sit atop the league with a mark of 12-4 on the season.
“We fought hard all weekend and just came up short in each game,” Lehigh head coach Sean Leary said. “We just have to keep working and get ready for Navy next weekend.”
Sophomore Justin Pacchioli led off the third inning of game one with a walk and stole second and third base before coming home on an RBI groundout by junior Tyler Brong. With Lehigh ahead 1-0 and senior Tom O'Malley batting in the fourth, freshman Mike Garzillo stole home on Holy Cross starter Donny Murray to increase the lead to two runs. It was the second time in as many games a Mountain Hawks player had stolen home. The Crusaders responded with three runs of their own, as Mike Ahmed scored on an error by freshman Mackey Price and Brandon Cipolla and Connor Perry hit RBI singles off junior starter Mike Burke. Holy Cross remained ahead 3-2 from that point on.
Sophomore Nick Macaione threw a wild pitch with two outs in the fifth before striking out pinch hitter Nick Lovullo to keep Lehigh in the contest. The Brown and White had runners on the corners with one out, but John Cocella fanned junior Joe Abeln and got Elson to ground out into a fielder's choice to earn his third straight save.
Pacchioli went 2-for-3 at the plate and had four of Lehigh's eight stolen bases. Cippola did a little bit of everything for Holy Cross, scoring a run, driving in a run and hitting 1-for-3. Burke took the loss and Murray got the win despite hitting a couple batters and throwing one wild pitch.
Holy Cross continued to manufacture productive outs in game two, as a sacrifice bunt by Lovullo in the second and a fielder's choice by Jordan Enos in the third gave the Crusaders a 2-0 advantage. Freshman Kevin Long gave up an RBI single through the right side to Cippola in the sixth that made the score 3-0. The Crusaders added an insurance run in the seventh on another RBI single by Cippola, who finished 2-for-4 in the nightcap.
Patrick Puentes went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Garzillo and sophomore John Elson both went 2-for-3 in the second game. Ahmed got the win after throwing six scoreless innings and giving up just five hits. Nate Walker held Lehigh scoreless for the final three innings to earn his first save of the year. Long took the loss after surrendering seven hits and three earned runs in 4.2 innings on the mound.
The Mountain Hawks will play their last regular season non-league game against Seton Hall at 4 p.m. Wednesday in South Orange, N.J. Lehigh will then host Navy in a pair of Patriot League doubleheaders beginning at 12 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to conclude regular season play. Lehigh's four seniors will be honored in an on-field ceremony prior to Saturday's series opener against the Midshipmen.
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