Flemington, NJ – (4/1/2010) – Chestnut Hill College got on the scoreboard first in both contests against St. Thomas Aquinas College today, but the Spartan bats were in full swing as they swept the doubleheader 8-2 and 20-2. Junior right fielder Dan Etherton (Princeton, NJ) led the Griffin lineup in the twin bill with two hits and two runs-batted-in (RBI).
Chestnut Hill College (7-10) was first on the scoreboard in the opener, using a lead-off walk from junior first baseman Mike Knipe (Sellersville, PA) to score a run in the top of the second inning. Knipe reached home on a two-out single from junior shortstop George Kochu (Pottstown, PA) to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, the advantage was short-lived as the Spartans poured in eight runs after their first at-bat. St. Thomas Aquinas College (10-15) took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning, scoring three runs on three consecutive Griffin errors. The Spartans then added three more runs in the sixth inning and a run apiece in the seventh and eighth innings before the Griffins pieced together a late tally on an Etherton sacrifice fly. Four Griffins recorded a hit while freshman pitcher Andrew Lawrence (Woodstown, NJ) took the loss (0-2), despite allowing no earned runs. He gave up five hits and walked three in four innings of work. The Spartan win was collected by junior pitcher Mike Aviles (Suffern, NY), who allowed one run on four hits and four walks while striking out five over five innings. He was relieved by junior Matt Marotta (Suffern, NY), who collected a four-inning save. He allowed one run on five walks; He struck out six without giving up a hit. Junior first baseman Kevin Ryan (Levittown, NY) was 3-for-3 at the plate for the Spartans.
After a two-run first inning for the Griffins, game two was all Spartans. Sophomore second baseman Jesse Daywalt (Phoenixville, PA) led-off the contest with a triple and later scored on an Etherton single to once again give the Griffins an early 1-0 advantage. Knipe's sacrifice fly made it 2-0 before the end of the at-bat, but the Spartans soon erased the Griffins' lead as they plated 20 runs between the second and seventh innings. Freshman pitcher Kevin Cahill (Langhorne, PA) took the loss (0-2) for the Griffins. He allowed three runs on four hits while striking out one in the first, two innings. Junior pitcher Sean Marsiglia (Warwick, NY) took the mound in the fifth inning and provided two innings of scoreless relief to collect the win for the Spartans.
The baseball team resumes their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) schedule when the welcome Concordia College to Hostelley Filed on Saturday, April 3, for a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader.
