MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The Bay College Baseball Team (5-1) extended their win streak to four games before getting saddled with their first loss. The Norse rebounded by holding on to a close game after their off day.
Bay continued their season with a doubleheader against Penn State – Hazelton (1-6) on Sunday evening. In the opener they got a dominant performance from Lorenzo Feliciano (FR, Deerfield Beach, FL). He tossed six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out 12.
Meanwhile the Norse offense did all its damage in the first inning. Base hits in the first three at bats by Blake Julian (SO, Iron Mountain, MI), Andres Franco (FR, Orenjestad, Aruba), and Zac Gomersall (SO, Perth, Australia) drove in the first run of the game. George Cooper (FR, Eltham, Australia) picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice, Zach Gibson (FR, Nassau, Bahamas) picked up an RBI single, and Josh Blake (SO, Seffner, FL) drove in the fourth run of the game with a base hit, all before PSU-Hazelton recorded an out.
From there the offense was quiet. The only real threats of the game were a pair of one-out walks in the fourth for Hazelton, and the Norse stranding a pair of runners in the sixth.
Gomersall pitched the seventh in relief for Bay, getting the side in order and picking up a strikeout.
Blake picked up a pair of hits in three at bats in the contest.
The Norse took the lead right away in the nightcap, putting up three runs in the top of the first. The first four batters reached safely and a wild pitch brought the first run in. Hazelton elected to surrender a run and turn two on a groundball a few batters later. Aedan Creten (FR, Gladstone, MI) came through with a two-out base hit to put Bay up 3-0.
The Norse added to their lead in the fifth. After a single and a walk, a defensive miscue would plate a run. Brandon Watts (SO, Valrico, FL) picked up an RBI with a ground out to second base.
The Norse got another strong pitching performance. This time it was Thijs Rijpstra (FR, Dongen, Netherlands) who took the ball for Bay, and had a shutout bid going into the seventh. Hazelton finally broke through in that last frame, but Rijpstra was able to close the door on a comeback. He ended up giving up just four hits, two runs, and two walks, while striking out four to pick up a win.
Bay got their biggest test of the young season on Monday against the NJCAA Division 3 #12 ranked Northampton Community College (9-1).
It was the Spartans getting the early advantage, following a leadoff walk with a triple off the bat of Brandon Ratti (SO, Effort, PA), who would then score on a passed ball.
Bay answered back in the third, taking advantage of a pair of one-out errors. The Norse drove in a run on a fielder's choice and then tied that game with a Gibson single.
The Spartans answered back in a big way in the bottom half of the inning. Another RBI single by Ratti sparked the rally, and some sloppy defense turned it into a big inning. Five hits, four of them being extra base hits, two errors, a hit by pitch, and a walk ended up with eight runs crossing the plate for Northampton, putting the game out of reach for the Norse. Bay would fall by a final of 12-2.
The Norse collected just three hits in the contest.
Ratti ended up with four hits and three RBI for the Spartans, including two triples and a double. He also picked up the win on the mound, giving up two unearned runs, walking two, and striking out six.
The Norse followed a day off by a schedule change due to some morning rain. The early game on the schedule was cancelled due to the schedule, but Bay was able to add a game with St. Elizabeth University's JV team.
Gomersall got the scoring going with an RBI single to left field in the top of the second. He scored a couple batters later when Watts singled to center.
The Norse got a big inning in the third. Franco started off the frame with a single and was driven in by Julian who lined a ball into left. Blake added to the lead with a two-out, two-RBI double. A pair of errors extended the inning and brought another run to the plate, and Feliciano drove in two more with a hard hit ball into left field, giving Bay an 8-0 lead.
Momentum changed in the fourth when starting pitcher Tyler Darmogray (FR, Gladstone, MI), who had been strong, started to fatigue. St Elizabeth took advantage of five walks and a pair of singles to cut the lead in half.
Control issues worked against the Norse again in the fifth, as three walks to start the inning set up St. Elizabeth to score two off a ringing double to left field. Bay came up with key play to slow the rally. A ground ball to shortstop Jake Sager (SO, Oconto Falls, WI) scored the seventh run of the game for St. Elizabeth, but Sager threw out the batter at first. First baseman Austin Samanske (FR, Eagle River, WI) then turned and threw to the plate in enough time to nab the runner trying to score from second, securing a double play. The Norse would force a ground ball to get out of the inning on the next play, preserving the one-run lead.
St. Elizabeth got just one more runner, a leadoff walk in the sixth, and were held in check by relief pitcher Scottie Hiller (SO, Escanaba, MI). Hiller went the final three, giving up one hit and striking out one to pick up the save, as the Norse won 8-7.
The Norse had 18 different players log time in the field and three pitchers enter the game in the victory.
Bay will wrap up their spring trip with two games on Thursday evening and one Friday morning. On Thursday they will match up with Salem Community College at 6 pm, followed by a game with Penn State - Schuylkill at 9 pm. The trip will be completed with a Friday morning game against Penn State – Shenango with first pitch scheduled for 10:30 am.