The Chestnut Hill College baseball team celebrated their seniors Monday evening as the Griffins played their final two home games of the season, splitting a doubleheader with Goldey-Beacom College. Chestnut Hill dropped the first game 3-1 and came back to win the second 2-1.
The Griffins are now 17-26 overall and 11-11 in Central Atlantic collegiate Conference games. The Lightning are 29-16 overall and 14-8 in league play.
Prior to the start of the second game, the Griffins held a brief ceremony to recognize their three seniors who would be playing in their final home games: infielder/catcher
Greg Sylvester; shortstop
Nate O'Donnell and catcher
Enrico Saviano. Sylvester missed the early portion of this season with an injury but came back and has started every game at second or third base since being cleared to return to action. O'Donnell has started every game this season for the Griffins at shortstop. Saviano has been a solid team player and backup catcher throughout his four year career.
Mike Kiefer pitched a solid game in his final start of the season in game two, tossing six plus innings and allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out five.
Colby Seelig earned his second save of the season, pitching to the last four Lightning batters in the seventh, striking out one.
The Griffins got all the runs they needed in the first inning.
Zach Ahmed singled and
RJ Huth walked to start the inning.
Justin Geiger sacrificed the two runners into scoring position, and both scored when
Ahmaad Goldson reached base on an infield error.
Staked to a lead, Kiefer after giving up two hits in the opening inning, Kiefer settled down, scattering five more hits along the way but kept the Lightning off the board. On the other side, GBC pitcher Justin Jump (4-5) allowed just two more hits after Ahmad's first inning single – a single from
David Antone in the fourth and a bunt single from Geiger in the sixth.
Kiefer gave up a single and a walk to start the seventh before Seelig came in to get the final three outs. After hitting a batter to load the bases with one out, Seelig induced a ground ball fielder's choice for the second out as the lead runner on third scored. Lightning cleanup hitter Marlon Lindsey Jr. then hit a sharp liner right at Huth in centerfield who snagged the ball for the final out to preserve the win.
In the opener, starter
Jake Schweiker allowed just one run in six innings of work.
Marlon Rose (6-5) came on in relief in the seventh and allowed two runs, to take the loss.
Goldey-Beacom took a 1-0 lead in the second while threatening in the middle innings but leaving a total of seven runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
The Griffins tied the score in the fifth inning as O'Donnell singled home Goldson who started the rally with a one-out double.
The scored remained tied until the Lightning took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and added an insurance run in the ninth on a Kyle Walker home run and made the 3-1 score stand for the win.
The baseball team will travel to New Jersey for their final two games of the season on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, when they take on Felician college in a CACC crossover doubleheader. First pitch is set for noon.
