WEYMOUTH, Mass. – Eastern Nazarene College scored an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth of game one of the season opening doubleheader, and steady snowfall led to the suspension of game two as Plymouth State University opened the 2022 season at Libby Field on Saturday afternoon.
Plymouth State held narrow leads of 2-0 and 4-3, but the Lions came back each time. ENC caught a break in the bottom of the ninth of the opener when the leadoff hitter reached on an error and stole second. Back-to-back singles gave ENC the walk-off win.
The Lions notched a pair of runs in the second inning of game two, but PSU cut the deficit in half when senior
Bryan McGrath (Franklin, Mass.) raced home on a dropped third strike in the fourth. The Panthers, playing as the home team in game two, retired the first two batters of the fifth inning, but snowy conditions forced the game to be suspended from there. No decision on a potential date of completion for the game has been made.
Plymouth State falls to 0-1, while the Lions end the day at 1-0.
The Basics:
- Game 1: Plymouth State 4, Eastern Nazarene 5
- Game 2: Plymouth State 1, Eastern Nazarene 2 (Susp., T5)
- Plymouth State (0-1)
- Eastern Nazarene (1-0)
How it Happened (Game One):
- Plymouth State grabbed an early lead when McGrath laced a double down the third base line to knock in freshman Owen Baum (Saint Michaels, Md.), who had singled earlier in the inning.
- The Panthers pushed the lead to 2-0 when freshman Danny Quinn (Holliston, Mass.) rocketed a solo shot to right to lead off the top of the second.
- Eastern Nazarene came up with a clutch, bases-loaded, two-out double in the bottom of the second to go ahead, 3-2.
- PSU came right back, though, when junior Nick Healey (Campton, N.H.) smacked a two-out single to center to drive in sophomore Luke Sokolski (Waterford, Conn.) and Baum for a 4-3 lead in the third inning.
- ENC plated another two-out run to knot the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth.
- Plymouth State had runners on the corners with two away in the sixth, but the Lions got a clutch strikeout to avoid trouble.
- The score would remain deadlocked until the bottom of the ninth, when ENC took advantage of a leadoff error by singling home the winning run.
How it Happened (Game Two):
- The Lions played as the away team in game two, scoring twice in the top of the second.
- Plymouth State was gifted a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the second after two errors by the ENC third baseman but was unable to push a run across.
- The Panthers successfully took advantage of another error in the fourth. McGrath got to second on a two-base error to open the frame and was sacrificed to third. Quinn struck out swinging, but the ball got away from the catcher and McGrath scampered home on the throw to first to make it 2-1.
- PSU retired the first two batters in the top of the fifth before the umpires suspended play due to inclement weather.
By the Numbers:
- Baum made quite a debut, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored from the two-hole, while sophomore Jackson Curtis (Jefferson, N.H.) had a pair of hits, including a double, in four at bats atop the lineup.
- Eight different Panthers recorded hits in the first game.
- Senior Noah Wachter (Concord, N.H.) struck out seven over the first five innings, surrendering four runs.
- Junior Bobby Cliche (Stratham, N.H.) was the hard-luck loser, striking out four and scattering four hits while giving up just the one unearned run over his three innings of work.
- Junior Trey Parker (Lebanon, N.H.) gave up two runs over the first 3.1 innings of game two, before classmate Eoin Hamell-Kelleher (Attleboro, Mass.) recorded the next four outs before the game was stopped.
Up Next:
- The Panthers are idle until making the trip to Fort Myers, Fla. for the annual Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic starting Mar. 4.
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