Baseball Struggles on Day Four of Florida Trip

FORT MYERS, Fla. (3/19/15) - The Lasell College baseball team dropped both games of Thursday afternoon's doubleheader at Terry Park in the fourth day of the Lasers' spring trip in Florida. In game one, Lasell fell to McDaniel College by a score of 11-5 and in the second game, the Lasers were defeated by Bethel University (Minn.), 16-1. With the losses, Lasell falls to 2-5 this spring, while McDaniel improves to 5-3 and Bethel registered its eighth win of the year, 8-2.

McDaniel 11, Lasell 5

Lasell senior pitcher Ryan Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) threw to a no decision over seven 1/3 innings on the mound. Bowen scattered five hits, allowed three runs (one earned), two walks and struck out three batters. Classmate left fielder Matt Sammarco (New Canaan, Conn.) went a perfect 4-for-4 which included an RBI double from the second spot in the lineup. Junior right fielder Skylar Beckerman (Pensacola, Fla.) had a 2-for-4 showing at the plate with two RBI's to pace the Lasers' offense.  

McDaniel received a near perfect pitching performance from the bullpen as junior Andrew Hofmeister (Baltimore, Md.) allowed no runs, two hits and struck out two batters over the final two 2/3 innings to pick up his first win of the year (1-0). Junior center fielder Sean Sivo went 4-for-6, scored three runs and drove in two RBI's from the leadoff spot for the Green Terror. Sophomore Kasey Nelson (Denton, Md.) led McDaniel with three RBI's, while junior first baseman Tyler Gilbert (Severn, Md.) brought home two runs as well.

The Lasers scored five of the games' first six runs over the opening four innings of play. After junior third baseman Tyler Flaherty (Portland, Maine) led off the bottom of the second inning with a single, senior catcher Dan Mickens (Montclair, N.J.) drove Flaherty home on a double two batters later to give Lasell a 1-0 lead. Nelson answered in the next inning for McDaniel with an RBI single to right field that plated Sivo and knotted the game at 1-1. 

Lasell took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third, when Beckerman brought home classmate Wes Hurty (Windsor, Conn.) and Sammarco. The Lasers added two more runs and extended their lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the next inning. Sammarco lined a double that brought home freshman Jesse Tejero (West Haven, Conn.) and senior Kevin Post (Cromwell, Conn.) grounded into a fielder's choice which plated classmate AJ McKenzie (Pasadena, Md.). 

McDaniel scored an unearned run in the top of the sixth after a fielding error by Lasell that cut the gap to 5-2, but the Golden Terror were not done scoring. McDaniel plated seven runs in the top of the eighth which featured RBI singles from Mitchell McVerry (Westminster, Md.) and Sivo, a two RBI double via Gilbert and a two RBI triples from Nelson, plus two more in the top of the ninth to claim an eventual 11-5 victory.

Bethel 16, Lasell 2

In the second game of the afternoon, the Lasers received RBI's from Hurty and freshman first baseman Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.), while Sammarco and Beckerman crossed home plate for the Lasers.

Bethel junior pitcher Sean Glenn (Waukee, Iowa) earned his first win of the season (1-0) as he allowed seven hits, one run, three walks and struck out six batters for the Royals. Sophomore leadoff hitter Bryce Marquardt (Champlin, Minn.) went 4-for-5, drove in four runs and scored three runs to pace Bethel. Senior Mike Schultz tallied three hits and scored three runs, while junior Matt Conrad (Shakopee, Minn.) lined a two-run inside-the-park homer to centerfield this afternoon.

The Lasers scored the games' first run in the top of the first inning, after Hurty singled to left centerfield that plated Sammarco. Bethel answered with a six-run inning in the bottom of the second. Freshman Esteban Velasco (San Diego, Calif.) doubled down the right field line that drove in two runs, Marquardt singled to left field that brought home two more, and Conrad crushed the ball to center, rounding all bases, to make the score 6-1. 

Bethel added five runs in the third, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the eighth which extended the Royals' lead to 16-1 after eight full innings. Lasell was able to get a run back in the top of the ninth, when Mascolo singled to right field that plated Beckerman, but it wasn't enough as Bethel claimed game two, 16-2.

Lasell plays its final doubleheader in Florida tomorrow morning against Knox College with first pitch slated for 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m, before closing the trip with a single game versus Wisconsin-Stout on Saturday, March 21 at 9:00 a.m.