Seahawks Hold off Late R-MC Rally for First Win of Season
Matt Baden
Ashland, Va. - Six solid innings from sophomore right-hander Barrett Enix (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond-Suffolk Academy) allowed the St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team to avoid a three-game sweep by the defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champion, Randolph-Macon College, as the Seahawks notched a 6-4 victory in non-conference action Sunday afternoon.
Enix (1-0) struck out a career-high five Yellow Jackets and only walked two as he yielded two runs on six hits. St. Mary's (1-2) helped Enix' cause with six runs on nine hits with no errors.
Randolph-Macon (2-1) took a shot at a ninth-inning rally as sophomores James Bierlein (Chesterfield, Va.) and Jay Lichter (Richmond, Va.) knocked in back-to-back home runs to lead off the inning. Freshman right-hander Matt Siciliano (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) came in relief of fellow classmate, Stephon Dingle (Baltimore, Md./Mt. Carmel), with a runner on first and no outs. Siciliano registered his first collegiate save as he struck out two and earned a forced out at second.
St. Mary's jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the third inning. Leading the offensive charge in the third were sophomore shortstop Matt Baden (Sunderland, Md./Huntingtown) and junior second baseman Lyle Kralle (Great Mills, Md./Great Mills) as each connected on a two-out, RBI single, while sophomore leftfielder Mark Dattilio (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) scored on a wild pitch.
Senior catcher J.P. Debrowski (Sykesville, Md./Glenelg) helped the Seahawks tack on another run in the fourth as Debrowski led off with a double and then crossed home plate on a sac fly by sophomore right fielder Bobby Corton (Owings Mills, Md./Calvert Hall).
SMCM was three-and-out before picking up its fifth run in the sixth as freshman designated hitter Nick Urso (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) doubled then reached home on a passed ball.
With two outs on the board, Randolph-Macon (2-1) cut its deficit to 5-2 in the sixth as junior leftfielder Michael Wallace (Powhatan, Va.) cracked his second two-run homer in as many days.
The Seahawks gave themselves a four-run cushion in the seventh as Dattilio notched a single to score junior centerfielder Jacen Killebrew (La Plata, Md./La Plata).
Baden, Kralle, and Debrowski each had two hits to lead the Seahawk offense while Killebrew scored twice.
Junior Kurt Breitmeyer (Richmond, Va.) suffered the loss as Breitmeyer (0-1) gave up three runs on three hits in 3.0 innings. He also walked four, while striking out two.
The Seahawks return to action next Sunday-Monday, February 15-16 when they host City College of New York in a three-game series. The first pitch is set for noon on Sunday.
