BUENA VISTA, Va. – In its first time spent on grass since the fall, the Southern Vermont College baseball team dropped its 2014 season opener 12-4 at Southern Virginia University Friday afternoon at Parry McCluer High School.
The Knights pick up their first win of the season, moving to 1-5 on the year, while SVC starts 0-1.
Mountaineer junior captain Sal Sciara (Massapequa, N.Y.) went 2-4 with a walk out of the two hole, adding two runs and a stolen base. Junior first baseman Cody LaBadia (Howes Cave, N.Y.) was also 2-4 on the day with a run scored and another batted in, and junior outfielder Roland Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif.) went 3-5 at the plate.
A slew of Southern Vt. pitchers took the mound to garner in-game experience with sophomore southpaw Erik Johansen (Rosendale, N.Y.) going four innings with the start. He gave up two runs, just one earned, on three hits while striking out three in the outing, but he was credited the loss as the Mountaineers trailed 2-1 when he got the hook.
Southern Va. saw most of its offensive production come from the top two spots in the order in addition to senior pitcher Mitch Mantle (St. George, Utah) helping himself out at the plate. Junior leadoff shortstop CJ Andrus (Federal Way, Wash.) went 3-5 with three RBIs and a run scored, and senior left fielder followed with a 3-4 showing, knocking in a run while scoring two of his own. At the bottom of the order, Mantle was 1-3 with a walk, his lone hit being a triple; he also had two runs scored and three more batted in.
Mantle picked up his first win of the season (1-0) from the hill after giving up just one run on four hits in five and two thirds innings. He also struck out three on the afternoon.
Sciara wasted little time in putting the Mountaineers on the board, going to third on a Knight error after taking his base on balls. The junior outfielder then broke for home during the next at bat, touching the dish safely for the 1-0 go-ahead. That score held up until the bottom of the third when SVU freshman center fielder Keenan Johnson (West Jordan, Utah) led off with a double and later scored on a fielder's choice to short.
The Knights would tack up another in the next frame when the Mountaineers again elected to take the out on a groundball that allowed freshman Hunter Allen (Salem, Va.) to come in from third for the 2-1 lead. After a scoreless fifth, Southern Va. opened up the game with a crooked eight spot with help from walks and hit by pitches. With three ducks on the pond, SVU junior first baseman Nick Lyons (Bryson City, S.C.) knocked a double to center, plating two more Knights as the hosts went ahead 5-1. They would add on another three before a fly out ended the inning with Southern Va. holding a 10-1 advantage.
SVC threatened to get back in the game in the following half inning as the Mountaineers started the top of the seventh with doubles by Sciara and LaBadia. LaBadia would later score on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, and a wild pitch then plated junior captain Chris Nicastro Jr. (Kenilworth, N.J.) to make it a 10-4 ballgame. But that would be all the visitors would muster as they were held scoreless in their next two innings at the dish. Southern Va. added two more in the bottom of the eighth when Mantle ripped his triple to score one, and he then came around on a subsequent single by Andrus.
Southern Vt. totaled 10 hits on the day compared to 13 by the Knights, and the Mountaineers committed just one error in the field while SVU had three defensive mistakes. But SVC was hard-pressed to get its runners around the base paths, leaving 12 on in the loss.
The Mountaineers look ahead to a doubleheader at SUNY Maritime next Sunday, March 9, starting at 11 a.m. Southern Va. turns around for a pair this Saturday at Hampden-Sydney College beginning at 12 p.m.