GAMBIER, Ohio – The Capital University Crusaders scored a run the top of the first inning of Sunday's baseball game. The floodgates then opened for the Kenyon College Lords, who scored ten times in the first two innings and coasted to 19-7 victory at McCloskey Field.
The Lords bashed 15 hits. They also benefitted from eight walks and five Capital errors to improve their record to 13-5 as they approach the midway point of the season.
In the bottom of the first inning,
Matt Contreras got things started for the Lords by ripping a double to left center. Capital starting pitcher Kyle Armbrecht then walked the next four batters, allowing the first two Kenyon runs to score. Later in the inning, No. 8 hitter
Joaquin Murrieta singled through the right side to plate two more runs, giving Kenyon a 4-1 lead after one.
A couple more walks, a single from
Patrick O'Leary and an outfield error from Capital resulted in a six-run second inning for the Lords. O'Leary's single scored one run and the error allowed two more to score. Three straight RBI singles from
Trenton DiFilippo, Murrieta and
Jake Brown capped off the inning with Kenyon leading 10-1.
On the mound, Kenyon sophomore
Alex Gow improved his season record to 2-0 after tossing five innings of one-run ball. He struck out eight and gave up just three hits and one walk.
In the third inning, O'Leary belted a two-run homer to left center. It was his team-leading fourth dinger of the season, as well as the eighth of his Kenyon career.
A five-run fourth inning followed and Kenyon went ahead 17-1.
Ryan Page and DiFilippo both doubled and scored in the inning.
Brown, a sophomore, launched his first collegiate home run in the seventh inning. It was a solo shot to right center.
Capital got to Kenyon's bullpen for three runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth, but that wasn't nearly enough to make a game of it. The Lords tacked on one unearned run in the eighth to put a lid on all scoring.
O'Leary ended up 3-for-3 with four runs scored and four RBI. Brown was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI. Gow, DiFilippo and Murrieta all had two-hit games. Gow scored four times, DiFilippo scored twice and Murrieta racked up three RBI.
