Box Score Game One | Box Score Game Two
GAFFNEY, S.C. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team opened the 2016 season at Limestone College on Saturday afternoon, dropping both game of a doubleheader by scores of 5-1 and 11-3.
The Hawks (0-2) and Saints (3-2) will meet again on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. to wrap up the three-game set.
In game one, neither team could find much offense through the first four and a half innings of play. Ken Morrisino (East Longmeadow, Mass.) reached base in both of his at-bats, working a walk and getting the first hit for the Hawks this season. John Marculitis (Shrewsbury, Mass.) also reached base on a walk in the top of the fifth, but the Hawks could not push a run across.
Tom Hudon (Merrimack, N.H.) allowed only three baserunners through the first four innings of action without giving up a hit, but Limestone broke out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brett Duckett led off the inning with a double and Austin Marcellus reached on a fielder's choice for Limestone. Chris Stewart stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with one swing of the bat, nailing a homerun to left field to give the Saints a 3-0 lead.
Saint Anselm got a run back in the top of the sixth after Morrisino walked and then stole second. He reached third on a single by Max Wadington (Burlington, Conn.), and later scored on a failed pick-off attempt to cut the deficit to only 3-1.
Limestone would add two more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run double by Marcellus to give the game its final score of 5-1.
Morrisino ended the game 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored. Max Wadington and Paul Trabucco (Salem, N.H.) each went 1-for-4, while Aaron Crandall (Billerica, Mass.) had a 1-for-3 day at the dish. Tom Hudon suffered the setback, tossing five innings and giving up three earned runs on only two hits. John Lavoie (Medford, Mass.) pitched the final three innings, giving up two runs on four hits. The duo struck out three batters apiece.
In the nightcap, Limestone scored six runs in the first two innings of the game to race out to an early advantage. They would add two more in the fourth inning to take an 8-0 lead after four innings of play.
Saint Anselm got two runs back in the top of the fifth as Morrisino drove in Matthew Flynn (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and Trabucco drove in Morrisino with an RBI single to right field. Unfortunately, the Saints would get those two runs back in their half of the fifth and tack one more on in the sixth to make it an 11-2 game after six full innings.
The Hawks would score the final run of the game as Marculitis drove in Trabucco with an RBI single as Saint Anselm eventually fell to Limestone, 11-3.
Paul Trabucco went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Ken Morrisino went 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Aaron Crandall, John Marculitis, Shaine Carpenter (Florham Park, N.J.), Connor Parent (Katy, Texas), and Matthew Flynn also had hits in the game.
Seve Llanio (Glen Arm, Md.) took the loss, lasting two innings while giving up six runs on seven hits. Tyler Buck (Franklin, Mass.) also tossed a pair of innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. Zane Byrne (Franklin, Mass.) got his first work of the year, throwing 2.1 innings and giving up one run on three hits. Jonathan Dunn (Nashua, N.H.) pitched the final inning of the game giving up only one walk.
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