BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Mountaineers may have gone yard three times Tuesday at the home opener against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts but in the end it was not enough as the Southern Vermont baseball team lost 13-9. Homeruns from captain Dan Cook (Watervliet, N.Y.), Andrew Morin (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.), and a grand slam from Pat Warrington (Folcroft, Pa.) in the bottom of the ninth inning blasted SVC to within four runs.
The game, which was moved from MCLA to SVC due to bad field conditions, saw Coach Schaffer's team down early as the Trailblazers (7-4) scored two runs in the first inning and another four in the second.
"We showed a little of our youth by not executing early in the game on defense. Ben Naaktgeboren (0-4) actually pitched well, but did not have anything to show for it," said Mountaineer Head Coach Don Schaffer.
Southern Vermont (1-12) responded in the bottom of the second with a two-run home run from freshman Andrew Morin.
"It was great to see two of our freshmen, Andrew Morin and Pat Warrington hit opposite field home runs and have good games," said Coach Schaffer.
The Mountaineer defense and pitching let up another three runs through the seventh inning, leaving them with an 8-2 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh. It was then that Cook launched the second homer of the day for Southern Vermont over the right field wall.
"Captain Dan Cook's home run was just one of many he has hit, and will hit as a Mountaineer," said Coach Schaffer.
After letting up five runs in the top of the ninth inning, the Mountaineers responded with five of their own, due to an RBI single from Northup and a grand slam from Warrington.
"I was very proud of the way the guys hung in there and came back strong at the end to make a game of it late," said Coach Schaffer.
Freshman Eric Wells (Athens, Pa.) go 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. "Wells did a nice job behind the plate, and swung the bat well also," said Coach Schaffer.
Sophomore captain Adam Northup (Richmond, R.I.), sophomore Cook, and freshman Warrington all were 2-for-5 on the day.
First Basemen Derek Gibbons led the Trailblazers offensive surge going 4-for-4 with five RBI's and walking twice. Centerfielder Rick Massey went 3-for-5 with an RBI as MCLA tallied up a total of 15 hits.
"We should come out strong and ready to play on Thursday [March 26, 3:00 p.m.] at home against Vermont Tech," said Coach Schaffer.