Baseball rallies for sweep of Lesley to even mark at 2-2
Auburndale, FL- The MCLA Baseball team rallied for a 4-3 game two victory in extra innings and they took the opener 10-1 behind a solid pitching performance from Ryan Grande as the Trailblazers swept the Lesley University Lynx this afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fl. MCLA evens their mark at 2-2 as do the Lynx.
In the opener, the Trailblazers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a pair of innings before putting up seven runs in the third to seize total control. The big blow was a grand slam home run off the bat of Tyler Benoit.
From there the story was Grande. The freshman danced around 10 hits but made key pitches when he had too to earn his first victory in his opening start. Grande struck out six hitters and walked a pair giving up the lone run.
Nate Gutmann, Mike Sullivan, Rory Slattery, and Mike Mancivalano all had two hits in the opener. Benoit drove in a career best five runs for MCLA.
In the nightcap, the Lynx scored a pair of runs in the second off MCLA starter Todd Hunt and added another in the third to take a 3-0 lead. MCLA would push a run across in the fourth to trim the margin to 3-1 before rallying in the seventh.
Myles Candelet led off by reaching on an error. After an out, Gutmann singled putting runners on the corners. Chase Preite lined a double to right scoring Candelet and putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Slattery bounced a single up the middle to tie the game and send it into extras.
In the eighth, Alon Willing and Mancivalano walked to open the frame. Candelet dropped a perfect bunt down for a single loading the bases with nobody out. After an out was recorded, Gutmann was hit by a pitch allowing Willing to score the eventual game winner.
The Lynx would try and mount a rally against MCLA reliever Nate Alibozek as they put the first two runners on base in the bottom half. Alibozek threw out a runner at third on a bunt attempt before inducing a game ending double play giving MCLA the sweep.
Alibozek went the final four innings allowing just a pair of hits and struck out two to earn the win.
MCLA is back in action on Tuesday when they battle Bard in a doubleheader.