Saturday, February 18
Daytona Beach, Fla.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
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Bethune-Cookman University
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Lehigh
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Bethune-Cookman
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Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Late-Inning Rally Comes Up Short in Extra-Inning Loss to B-CU
2/18/2023 10:34:00 PM | Baseball
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Lehigh baseball squad (1-1) battled back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game twice before falling to Bethune-Cookman (1-1) in 10 innings, 7-6, at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first inning, the Mountain Hawks would strike first on an inside-the-park home run hit to left field by sophomore Justin Butler, who raced around the bases and gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead in the second.
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Bethune-Cookman did not take long to counter when Colton Olasin recorded a two-RBI single to left field to put the Wildcats in front after two innings. In the third inning, B-CU made it 3-1 when Jorge Braceras singled to the shortstop for an RBI, but the Wildcats would leave the bases loaded and take a 3-1 edge into the fourth frame.
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In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bethune-Cookman tacked on two more runs to extend its lead to 5-1 when Robert Moya singled up the middle to score a Wildcat, followed by a walk with the bases loaded that allowed the second run of the inning to score.
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Both squads were scoreless in the fifth, but the Mountain Hawks were able to get their second run of the game across the plate in the sixth when junior Andrew Nole doubled down the right-field line that scored fifth-year Casey Rother, who started off the frame with a walk, to put the score at 5-2. Two innings later, with two runners on base sophomore Andrew Kohl stepped up to the plate and blasted a three-run home run to tie the game at 5-5.
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The Wildcats answered quickly in their half of the eighth when Luis Tuero singled to third and plated the go-ahead run, giving B-CU a 6-5 lead heading into the top of the ninth. Jake Whitlinger got on base to start the inning and fifth-year Gerard Sweeney singled up the middle to score Whitlinger and tie things up once again.
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Lehigh would keep Bethune-Cookman off the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth and we would head to extra innings where the Mountain Hawks went down in order and the Wildcats managed to plate the game-winning on a fielder's choice, and handing Lehigh a 7-6 loss.
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The left-handed fifth-year Luke Rettig got the nod to start on Saturday night and threw 2.0 innings with two earned runs on one hit, four strikeouts and three walks. Senior Ben Christian was the first to enter the game out of the bullpen and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in his 1.2 innings of work.
Sophomore Marcus Danchision entered in relief and tossed 3.2 innings, allowing an unearned run, one hit and one walk before first-year Cole Leaman stepped on the mound. He hurled 2.0 innings with one hit and one unearned run and was ultimately dealt the loss in the decision.
Six Mountain Hawks combined for nine hits on the evening, with Kohl going 2-for-5 with three RBIs on his three-run game-tying homer, the second of his career. Nole also produced two hits, going 2-for-3 in his first appearance of the season with an RBI, a run scored and a double while fifth-year Joe Gorla had a pair of base knocks for the Mountain Hawks.
Butler got the first run on the board for Lehigh with his inside-the-park home run in the second inning, the eighth homer of his career, for his lone plate appearance. Both Rother and Sweeney recorded a hit this evening, with Rother scoring a run after getting on base with a double and Sweeney driving in a run with a base hit.
The Mountain Hawks return to Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday to close out the series with Bethune-Cookman. First pitch is set for 9:30 a.m. with a 1 p.m. cutoff.
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After a scoreless first inning, the Mountain Hawks would strike first on an inside-the-park home run hit to left field by sophomore Justin Butler, who raced around the bases and gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead in the second.
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Bethune-Cookman did not take long to counter when Colton Olasin recorded a two-RBI single to left field to put the Wildcats in front after two innings. In the third inning, B-CU made it 3-1 when Jorge Braceras singled to the shortstop for an RBI, but the Wildcats would leave the bases loaded and take a 3-1 edge into the fourth frame.
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In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bethune-Cookman tacked on two more runs to extend its lead to 5-1 when Robert Moya singled up the middle to score a Wildcat, followed by a walk with the bases loaded that allowed the second run of the inning to score.
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Both squads were scoreless in the fifth, but the Mountain Hawks were able to get their second run of the game across the plate in the sixth when junior Andrew Nole doubled down the right-field line that scored fifth-year Casey Rother, who started off the frame with a walk, to put the score at 5-2. Two innings later, with two runners on base sophomore Andrew Kohl stepped up to the plate and blasted a three-run home run to tie the game at 5-5.
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The Wildcats answered quickly in their half of the eighth when Luis Tuero singled to third and plated the go-ahead run, giving B-CU a 6-5 lead heading into the top of the ninth. Jake Whitlinger got on base to start the inning and fifth-year Gerard Sweeney singled up the middle to score Whitlinger and tie things up once again.
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Lehigh would keep Bethune-Cookman off the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth and we would head to extra innings where the Mountain Hawks went down in order and the Wildcats managed to plate the game-winning on a fielder's choice, and handing Lehigh a 7-6 loss.
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The left-handed fifth-year Luke Rettig got the nod to start on Saturday night and threw 2.0 innings with two earned runs on one hit, four strikeouts and three walks. Senior Ben Christian was the first to enter the game out of the bullpen and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in his 1.2 innings of work.
Sophomore Marcus Danchision entered in relief and tossed 3.2 innings, allowing an unearned run, one hit and one walk before first-year Cole Leaman stepped on the mound. He hurled 2.0 innings with one hit and one unearned run and was ultimately dealt the loss in the decision.
Six Mountain Hawks combined for nine hits on the evening, with Kohl going 2-for-5 with three RBIs on his three-run game-tying homer, the second of his career. Nole also produced two hits, going 2-for-3 in his first appearance of the season with an RBI, a run scored and a double while fifth-year Joe Gorla had a pair of base knocks for the Mountain Hawks.
Butler got the first run on the board for Lehigh with his inside-the-park home run in the second inning, the eighth homer of his career, for his lone plate appearance. Both Rother and Sweeney recorded a hit this evening, with Rother scoring a run after getting on base with a double and Sweeney driving in a run with a base hit.
The Mountain Hawks return to Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday to close out the series with Bethune-Cookman. First pitch is set for 9:30 a.m. with a 1 p.m. cutoff.
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Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Joan Gonzalez (1-0)
L: Leaman, Cole (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Rother, Casey 1 ; Nole, Andrew 1
HR: Butler, Justin 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 1
RBI: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Butler, Justin 1 ; Nole, Andrew 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitlinger, Jake 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1 ; Butler, Justin 1 ; Nole, Andrew 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 1
SB: Whitlinger, Jake 1
Batting:
RBI: Luis Tuero 1 ; Robert Moya 1 ; Jason Hodges 1 ; Jorge Braceras 1 ; Colton Olasin 2
SH: Colton Olasin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Garret Chun 2 ; Hylan Hall 1 ; Robert Moya 1 ; Boris Pena 1 ; Jeremiah Guzman 1 ; Derek Cintron 1
SB: Boris Pena 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
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