AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Curry College baseball team split its two decisions to begin the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, opening with a 6-1 victory over Chatham University, before falling to Pitt.-Greensburg 10-3 in the nightcap.
Game One – Curry 6, Chatham 1
Curry junior starter Zachary Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) tossed a four-hitter over 7.1 innings and struck out eight batters. Sophomore Julian Jaume (Brooklyn, N.Y.) went 2-for-2 with a double, a single, three runs batted in, and one run scored. Freshman John Trevino (Edinburg, Texas) finished 2-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.
The Colonels got out to a 2-0 lead in top of the second inning. Senior Adam Duarte (East Providence, R.I.) led off the frame with a single to right field and later scored on a double by Jaume. The two-bagger also brought around freshman Matthew Jones (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Curry tacked on another in the third on a single by sophomore Jason Leonard (Dedham, Mass.). The base knock scored Trevino to put the Colonels up 3-0.
Curry added three more in the top of the ninth. Jaume, junior Riley Cronin (East Providence, R.I.), and Trevino all delivered RBI singles to close out the scoring for the Colonels.
The Cougars got on the board in the next half-inning, thanks to an RBI groundout by junior Logan Kasper (Johnstown, Pa.), which scored sophomore Caleb Lehman (Monroeville, Pa.).
Junior Ryan Shawley (Latrobe, Pa.) was tagged with the loss for Chatham, going eight innings. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out nine and walking just one.
Game Two – Pitt.-Greensburg 10, Curry 3
Sophomore Brody Bonadio (Connellsville, Pa.), freshman Abram King (Washington, Pa.), and junior Jordan Cavanaugh (Grafton, Ohio) picked up a three hits apiece for Pitt.-Greensburg. Three others registered at least two hits for the Bobcats.
Curry was paced by Leonard, who registered one hit, drove in a run, and scored once.
The Colonels struck for two in the top of the first. Leonard drove in Trevino with an RBI double to right center and Duarte brought around Leonard with a base hit to center for the 2-0 advantage.
Pitt.-Greensburg got things going in the home half of the first with three runs. Junior Jacob Davey (Canonsburg, Pa.) reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, which scored Bonadio. After a groundout to make two outs in the frame, King reached on an error by Duarte, which allowed a pair to cross home. The Bobcats added some insurance runs with one apiece in the second and the fifth to build a 5-2 advantage.
Junior Dylan DeRoss (Elizabeth, Pa.) continued the strong offensive output with a bases-clearing triple in the seventh while Bonadio contributed a single to extend the lead to seven (9-2). Freshman Jace Cappellini (Uniontown, Pa.) rounded out the scoring for Pitt.-Greensburg when he drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Bonadio.
Curry tallied the final run of the contest when sophomore Eric Sennott (Odessa, Fla.) flied out to left field, which helped drive in freshman Conor Hanlon (Beverly, Mass.).
Freshman Cameron Herndon (Floresville, Texas) took the loss for the Colonels (2-1 overall).
Curry will continue its Spring Break trip when they square off against Anna Maria College on Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m. The game will take place at Lake Myrtle Park's Main Field in Auburndale, Fla.
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