Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Myrtle Beach, SC – (2/24/2012) – The 2012 baseball season opened for Chestnut Hill College today with the Northeast Challenge at the Ripken Experience Complex in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Griffins faced Molloy College in an afternoon doubleheader, which the Lions swept with finals of 2-1 and 5-2. Junior shortstop Joe Crane (Newtown, PA) totaled four hits (4-for-6) and knocked in a run for the Griffins.
 
Molloy College (2-0) struck first; scoring the opener's first run in the fourth inning. A one-out triple paid immediate dividends as freshman catcher Dino Tomasetti (Hewlett, NY) singled the Lion runner home in the next at-bat, 1-0. The Griffins stopped the bleeding with a 3-6 double play and answered two innings later, in the bottom of the sixth. A lead-off triple for senior center fielder Alex Latchum (Warrington, PA) put the tying run 90 feet away and he would not stay there long, scoring on a balk in the following at-bat. The Lions got out of the inning without any more damage to head to the bottom of the frame with the contest knotted at 1-1. A lead-off single to sophomore left fielder Carlos Guzman (Bloomingburg, NY) provided an opportunity and the Lions capitalized, as he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, third on a passed ball, and home on a Tomasetti sacrifice fly, 2-1. Junior pitcher Bob Hopkins (Philadelphia, PA) took the loss (0-1) for the Griffins, allowing one earned run over six innings of work. Senior pitcher Chuck Fontana (Staten Island, NY) collected the win (1-0) for the Lions and sophomore pitcher Anthony Eichhorn (Sayville, NY) earned a save (1).
 
The Lions wasted little time getting to work in the second game, as Guzman led-off with a single and scored a little while later on a grounder to short, 1-0. The Griffins answered in the bottom of the second. Freshman left fielder Mike McLaughlin (Philadelphia, PA) led-off with a double and stole second, after a strikeout, to move into scoring position. Freshman first baseman Anthony McQuade (Lindenhurst, NY) brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the contest 1-1, but the Lions reclaimed the lead with three runs in the third inning, 4-1. The Griffins tightened the affair in their half of the third inning thanks to a two-out walk to sophomore designated hitter Ray Puskar (Green Lane, PA) and a run scoring single from Crane, 4-2. Unfortunately, the Griffin went quietly in their final four at-bats while the Lions added an insurance tally with a two-out, run scoring, Guzman triple in the seventh inning, 5-2. Freshman pitcher Dom Raia (Philadelphia, PA) took the loss (0-1) for the Griffins; he allowed four runs on six hits while striking out three. For the Lions, senior pitcher Jason Lembo (East Meadow, NY) collected the win (1-0) while allowing two runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out six in five inning of work.        
 
The men's baseball team continues play in the Northeast Challenge tomorrow, Saturday, February 25, with a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader against Franklin Pierce University.