Saturday, April 11
Worcester, Mass.
2 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-19, 5-4
9
at
8
Holy Cross
14-17, 7-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Lehigh
0
1
0
3
4
0
0
0
0
0
1
9
10
2
Holy Cross
3
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
12
2
Mountain Hawks earn Saturday sweep at league-leading Holy Cross
4/11/2015 9:06:00 PM | Baseball
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Lehigh baseball team scored eight unanswered runs in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader at first-place Holy Cross to earn a 9-8, 11-inning win before the Mountain Hawks claimed an 8-4 victory in the nightcap to sweep Saturday's doubleheader at Fitton Field. Lehigh has now won five-straight Patriot League contests to improve to 6-4 in league play. Holy Cross falls to 7-3 in the league standings with Saturday's two losses.
Senior Patrick Walshe smacked a game-tying grand slam in the fifth inning of the day's first game before junior reliever Kevin Boswick fired seven shutout innings and junior Mike Garzillo recorded the game-winning RBI in the 11th inning to propel the Mountain Hawks to the 9-8 victory. Lehigh scored in four innings of the day's second game and out-hit the Crusaders 12-4 to back the strong pitching performances of seniors Nick Macaione and Jordan Smith in the 8-4 nightcap victory.
"Our team showed a ton of character today to rally all the way back from an 8-1 deficit in the first game," said head coach Sean Leary. "Pat Walshe put the team on his back and turned the momentum of the game and Boswick was just spectacular. Game two was one of the more complete games that we've played all year. Nick and Jordan were both great, we bunted and played small ball, had a home run and a few big hits and executed a complete team effort.
"We approach every series as a way to bench mark ourselves against the other teams, so to come out of today with two wins against the first-place team is huge for us," continued Leary. "It was a great challenge for our team and our guys really rose to the occasion so many different times today."
Saturday's balanced offensive attack saw eight different Mountain Hawks record RBI, led by Walshe with five. Seniors John Elson, Connor Faust and Tim McKay, along with sophomore Patrick Donnelly, each knocked in a pair of runs. Elson scored a team-best five runs to go along with his 4-for-8 showing at the plate in the two games combined. Walshe and Garzillo both crossed the plate three times during the day's two games.
The Crusaders scored three unearned runs in the first inning of the day's first game, which was scheduled to go just seven innings. Lehigh was able to get a run back in the top of the second when Elson smoked a one-out double down the left field line. Faust reached first on a Holy Cross error that allowed Elson to move to third before McKay sent an RBI single to right center.
Holy Cross put up five runs in the second and third innings to take an 8-1 lead. Donnelly led off the fourth with a single up the middle before Elson sent a base hit through the left side. Walshe ripped a double to right center before a pair of RBI groundouts from Faust and McKay helped Lehigh cut the Crusader lead to 8-4.
Lehigh senior start J.R. Edwards kept Holy Cross off the board in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore Jacen Nalesnik sent a one-out single to right before a Crusader error on a groundball from Garzillo and an Elson base on balls loaded the bases for the Mountain Hawks in the fifth. George Capen then came on in relief of Holy Cross starter Donny Murray with Walshe up to bat. With an 0-1 count on him, Walshe smacked a grand slam over the right field fence, his fourth home run of the season, to even the game at 8-8 at the end of the fifth inning.
Boswick came on in relief of Edwards in the fifth and kept the Crusaders off the board for the final three innings of regulation to send the series opener to extra innings tied at eight. Boswick remained on the mound for the next three innings and continued to dominate the Crusaders as the game remained knotted heading into the 11th.
McKay drew a leadoff walk in the 11th inning before he was moved to second by a sacrifice bunt from freshman James Bleming. Senior Justin Pacchioli was intentionally walked before Nalesnik drew a base on balls to load the bases. Garzillo followed with a single through the left side to drive in the game-winning run and put Lehigh ahead 9-8. Boswick came in for his seventh inning of action and sat down the Crusaders in order to secure the 9-8, 11-inning win for Lehigh.
Boswick kept the Crusaders scoreless for the final seven innings of the game, allowing just three hits and striking out five to earn his second win of the season. Holy Cross reliever Collin Manning suffered the loss.
Lehigh picked up where it left off in the day's second game, a nine-inning affair, when Holy Cross starter Ben White issues a pair of walks to Nalesnik and Garzillo and both Mountain Hawks advanced a base on a balk. Donnelly followed with a two-run single to center before Elson sent a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Mountain Hawks a quick 4-0 lead.
The Crusaders scored three runs in the next two innings to cut the Mountain Hawk advantage to 4-3, but starter Macaione settled in from there and kept Holy Cross hitless for the rest of his outing.
A McKay base hit opened the sixth frame before a sacrifice bunt from Bleming and bunt single from Pacchioli forced the Crusaders to bring on Zach Fox in relief of White. Nalesnik then laid down a bunt to help the Mountain Hawks execute the sacrifice squeeze and score McKay. Elson and Walshe opened the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back singles through the left side before each advancing a base on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly from Faust and RBI single from Bleming added two more Lehigh runs as the Mountain Hawks worked their lead to 7-3.
Macaione remained on the mound until he issued a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh and Smith took over. Macaione finished with a strong line of three runs on three hits, all of which came in the first two innings, and eight strikeouts to earn his second-straight win on the mound.
The Crusaders scored an unearned run in the eighth, but Smith recorded a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to secure the 8-4 victory and Saturday sweep. Smith earned the save after throwing a full three innings and allowing just one unearned run on one hit.
Lehigh and Holy Cross wrap up their four-game series Sunday at Fitton Field with a doubleheader slate to begin at 1 p.m. Free video of both games will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Boswick, Kevin (2-3)
L: Manning (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Elson, John 1 ; Walshe, Patrick 1
HR: Walshe, Patrick 1
RBI: Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Walshe, Patrick 5 ; Faust, Connor 1 ; McKay, Tim 2
SH: Bleming, James 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nalesnik, Jacen 1 ; Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Donnelly, Patrick 1 ; Elson, John 3 ; Walshe, Patrick 2 ; McKay, Tim 1
SB: McKay, Tim 1
Batting:
2B: Sandoval 1 ; Voitik 1
3B: Lovullo 1
RBI: Lovullo 3 ; Hassell 1 ; Critelli 1 ; Schlich 1 ; Voitik 1
SH: Hassell 1 ; Critelli 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lovullo 2 ; Hassell 1 ; StClair 1 ; Schlich 1 ; Sandoval 1 ; Voitik 1 ; Indeglia 1
CS: Hassell 1 ; Schlich 1
PO: Hassell 1
Game Leaders
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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3B
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RHP
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1B
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LHP
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OF
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OF
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RHP
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