Baseball Drop Two to Close Out RussMatt

DAVENPORT, Fla. – The MCLA Baseball team spent the final day of their annual spring break road trip to the RussMatt Invitational with a pair of games at the Northeast Regional Park against opponents that they had never faced until today.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
• Game #1: Rutgers-Newark 14, MCLA 2
• Records: Rutgers-Newark University Scarlett Raiders 8-7 (NJAC 0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 2-7 (MASCAC 0-0)
• Series History: This was the first-ever meeting of the teams.
• Game #2: MCLA 1, Elmhurst 14
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 2-9 (MASCAC 0-0) | Elmhurst University Bluejays 4-8 (CCIW 0-0)
• Series History: This was the first-ever meeting of the teams.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Game #1
  • Rutgers-Newark took advantage of an error by the Trailblazers in the first inning to build up an early 4-0 lead they wouldn't relinquish. The big hit in the inning was a three-run bases clearing double by Matthew Torreto.
  • The next inning, the Scarlett Raiders mounted a two out rally to score two more runs, stringing together a hit by pitch to Eric Recchia, a triple by Michael Weinbel scored Recchia, and a single center scored Weinbel.
  • Rutgers-Newark twice padded their lead with one-run innings in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth it was a triple by Recchia that was followed by a double by Weinbel. In the fifth it was a double by Dario Morales that was followed by a single to center by Torreto.
  • MCLA plated their only runs in the bottom of the sixth. Benjamin Jacob (Pittsfield, MA) started the one out rally with a triple into the left-center field gap that was followed by a triple into the right-center field gap by Roshan Warriar (Pittsfield, MA). Warriar then scored on a ground out by Joshua Bissaillon (East Greenbush, NY).
  • The Scarlett Raiders added six more runs on an RBI hit by pitch and an RBI walk before Morales knocked the biggest hit of the day with a grand slam to left-center.
  • Bobby Portman (1-0) picked up the win for the Rutgers-Newark, pitching six innings and only allowing three hits.
• Game #2
  • The Bluejays offense was in gear during the Trailblazers' second game of the day, scoring at least one run in each inning they went to the plate. The big surges came in the first and fourth innings.
  • Elmhurst plated four runs in the first inning, including a three-run homerun by Evan Johnson.
  • A sacrifice fly by Rock Smith in the second inning pushed the lead to 5-0, before MCLA got on the board in the top of the third with a two-out rally. Warriar lined a single through the left side of the defense and then came around to score when Bissaillon doubled down the left field line.
  • The Bluejays added one more run in the bottom of the inning on the second homerun of the day by Johnson before tacking on six more runs in the fourth, mostly on two-run singles by Smith and Javier Cervantes.
  • Johnson added an RBI double in the fifth inning, before an MCLA error scored another run in the sixth.
  • Elmhurst's Charlie Smith (1-0) went the distance, scattering eight hits and striking out eight.

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Robison Field and Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute for a non-conference matchup with the Engineers. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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