FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Kenyon College junior
Patrick O'Leary used his bat and his arm to steer the Lords baseball team to a Monday doubleheader sweep of the Immaculata University Mighty Macs. In game one, O'Leary launched a go-ahead homer during a 9-8 win. In game two, he pitched six innings of three-hit ball in a 10-2 victory.
The two wins pumped Kenyon's record to 8-3, a mark three games better than last year's start and the program's best start, through 11 games, in the past six seasons.
The opening contest was one both pitching staffs would soon like to forget. The two starters struggled with command, gave up big second-inning tallies and neither made it to the fourth. Kenyon starter
Patrick Craig walked six in three innings of work and gave up six runs over the first two innings. Immaculata starter Billy Manzo walked three and gave up six runs in the bottom of the second.
In the third inning, Kenyon claimed the lead after
Trenton DiFilippo singled and later came around to score on a wild pitch. In the fourth, the Lords moved ahead 8-6 after
Alex Gow walked and scored on a double hit by
Paul Siciliano.
The Mighty Macs responded with a two-run fifth inning, knotting the game at 8-8.
That set the stage for O'Leary, who led off the sixth inning with a home run that stayed just inside the left field foul pole. It was his second home run of the season and held up as the game-winning run.
Kenyon reliever,
Ross Scheinberg, who worked out of a jam in the fifth inning, closed out the game to earn the win. He ended up tossing two-and-two-third scoreless innings and gave up just one hit.
In game two, O'Leary got the win. He allowed just two earned runs on three hits and five walks. He struck out five and coaxed the Mighty Macs into 13 fly outs. That performance put O'Leary's season record at 2-0 and his ERA at 2.77.
While O'Leary was locking up the Immaculata offense, the Kenyon bats gave him more than enough run support. The team scored at least one run in all but the third inning and posted a pair of runs in each of the last four innings.
Matt Contreras, who hit an inside-the-park home run in the first inning and a triple in the sixth inning, was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Gow and
Eric DelRosso also had two hits in game two, while
Andrew Rabinowitz, a catcher batting in the No. 8 spot, went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBI.
Over the course of the two games, Kenyon out-hit Immaculata, 26-13. Lords' leadoff man
Ryan Page was 3-for-3 in game one and ended up with four hits on the day. Only DiFilippo matched that total. He was a combined 4-for-6 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Next up for the Lords is a single, nine-inning game Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. against the Earlham College Quakers.
