PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Anselm College baseball team opened its 2020 season on Saturday, picking up back-to-back victories over the University of the Sciences at Father Judge High School.
Saint Anselm, winners via scores of 7-1 and 15-5, moves to 2-0 to begin the season while USciences remains in search of its first victory through four games. Head Coach Jerod Edmondson '06 picked up the first two wins of his collegiate head coaching career – his team returns to action at high noon on Sunday in another doubleheader at Father Judge High.
Sophomore Matt Collins (Beverly, Mass.) led the offense with four runs driven in on the afternoon. Sophomores Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) and Logan Doran (Stony Brook, N.Y.) each chipped in with three hits, the former tacking on his third career home run. Junior Ben Horsfall (Westborough, Mass.) socked a three-run home run in game two, the second of his career.
Hawks starting pitchers combined to concede just two earned runs on the day, striking out 10 batters across 13 innings of work. Junior Will Conaton (Windham, N.H.) won the first game of the afternoon with seven strong innings, striking out six batters for the complete-game victory. Senior Ryan Schworer (Medfield, Mass.) also turned in a fine start, scattering four strikeouts across six innings for the win.
GAME ONE – Saint Anselm 7, USciences 1 (Box Score)
USciences pushed across the game's first run in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to a fielder's choice RBI by Chris Anderson that plated Nate Steele, who led off the frame with a walk. With two outs in the top of the fourth, however, Borrelli smacked a two-run single that was followed by an RBI double from Boli to push the Hawks ahead for good.
Saint Anselm scored three runs via a base hit with two errors in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Doran singled before sophomore Enzo Merlonghi (Monroe, Conn.) reached first via an error by the shortstop to extend the inning. A solo shot by Pierro with one out in the top of the seventh inning created the 7-1 final score.
Conaton struck out two batters in the first inning and never looked back, working around runners on second and third with one out in the very next stanza. He induced a swinging strikeout and ran into minimal trouble throughout the rest of the game for his fourth career pitching victory.
John McCrane fanned six Hawks batters for USciences, but drew the loss despite only allowing three earned runs. Ryan Hess struck out three batters in two innings of relief, conceding only the solo shot by Pierro.
GAME TWO – Saint Anselm 15, USciences 5 (Box Score)
A solo home run by USciences in the top of the first inning gave the hosts yet another one-run lead early in the contest, but the Hawks were up to the task. An RBI single by Collins quickly tied the game in the next half-inning and Saint Anselm pushed the go-ahead run ahead in the top of the third on a Devils error.
The top of the fourth inning saw two RBI singles from Pierro and Merlonghi, putting the Hawks ahead by a 4-1 margin, before a three-run fifth inning extended the lead further. Collins smacked a two-run double before Pierro produced yet another extra-base, run-scoring hit with a double.
An eight-run sixth inning was keyed by an RBI single from sophomore Chris Schworer (Medfield, Mass.). He was followed with another RBI single by Collins, a run-scoring error off a Pierro batted ball, and a Logan Doran (Stony Brook, N.Y.) single. Pinch hitter Patrick Henning (Guilderland, N.Y.), in his first Hawks at-bat, slapped an RBI double before Horsfall's three-run shot punctuated the big inning.
Freshman Joe Sgobbo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) got one out for Saint Anselm in the seventh inning before classmate John Donovan (Lowell, Mass.) closed the door, inducing a game-ending double play ball that went around the horn to seal the win.
Ryan Schworer earned his first career win for the Hawks on the mound. Chris Brown drew the loss for USciences, allowing four earned runs in three-and-a-third innings of work. A trio of Devils relievers combined for 10 earned runs and eight strikeouts.
