An eight run second inning provided the momentum for the Chestnut Hill College Baseball team as they earned a hard-fought 15-12 win over nationally ranked Goldey-Beacom College in the opening game of their doubleheader Thursday at Hostelley Field.
Goldey-Beacom won the second game, 9-3 giving the Griffins a split against the Lightning, ranked #17 in the most recent NCBWA Â Top 25 poll. Â The Griffins record now stands at 19-16 overall and 14-10 in Central Atlantic collegiate conference games.
Three Griffins blasted home runs in the opening game with two of them coming in the Griffins' eight run second inning.  Michael Benedetto III hit a two run home run  and two batters later Michael Pascoe hit a solo shot to tie the game. Dylan Broderick also hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning.
Justin Geiger had four hits , scored three runs and drove in two while Kenyon Motley added two hits. Benedetto and Phoenix Bowman drove in three runs apiece. Benjamin Bradt earned the win in relief for the Griffins, his first of the season. Bradt allowed one run on two hits while striking out three over 2 2/3 innings. Colby Seelig earned his seventh save of the season, pitching two scoreless innings.
The Lightning jumped out to a 6-0 lead with two runs in the first inning and four more in the second. In the bottom half of the second inning, Chestnut Hill loaded the bases with nobody out when bowman launched a sacrifice fly to right field to score Geiger with the first CHC run. Wyatt Spinks followed with a single up the middle to score two more runs. Benedetto followed, hitting a 1-1 pitch over the left center field fence for a two-run home run, cutting the deficit to 6-5. Two batters later Pascoe hit his sixth home run of the season, clearing the left field fence to tie the game at 6-6.  Geiger added another run with an RBI single, his second hit of the inning and later scored on an error to give the Griffins an 8-6 lead.
Three more runs by the Lightning in the third put the visitors back on top 9-8. Nick Shiffler and Geiger added RBI singles in the bottom half of the third to give the Griffins a 10-9 lead.   Broderick led off the fourth with a solo home run to push the Griffins lead to 11-9 before the Lightning tied the game with two runs in the top half of the fifth inning and took a 12-11 lead in the sixth inning.Â
In the bottom half of the sixth inning, the Griffins again loaded the bases and Bowman then drove in two runs to put the Griffins ahead for good. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by Benedetto and Aiden Myers put the Griffins ahead 15-12 and rounded out the scoring in the game.
In the nightcap, the Lightning jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the fifth inning taking advantage of three Chestnut Hill errors and limited the Griffin offense to just three hits over the final three innings as they earned a split with the 9-3 win.
Benedetto had three hits and drove in two runs while Myers added two hits and had one RBI. Rich Bonino took the loss, allowing eight GBC runs (four earned) over 4 1/3 innings.
Myers drove in the first CHC run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning, making the score 3-1 at the time.
Goldey-Beacom scored five times in the top half of the fifth to take a commanding lead, 9-1. In the bottom of the fifth Benedetto delivered a one-out double, scoring Bowman to make the score 9-2. Benedetto's single in the seventh brought home the final Chestnut Hill run in the seventh.
The baseball team returns to action on Saturday, April 19, 2025, when they travel to Goldey-Beacom College to conclude their four-game series with the Lightning. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.
