HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Senior designated hitter Austin Rock led Moravian (1-0) to a 20-8 opening day victory over Rutgers-Camden (0-1) at the Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament. Rock went 4-for-4 with one homerun, four RBIs, four runs scored and two doubles.
The Scarlet Raptors managed to get two hits off of senior pitcher Brendan Close in the bottom of the first, but were unable to put the runners across the plate as Close left the inning unscathed.
The Greyhounds would come out in the top of the second and put a five spot on the board. Seniors third baseman Greg Steinman and Rock started the inning with back-to-back singles. Freshman left fielder Chris Lansberry and senior catcher Blake Shortall hit back-to-back RBI doubles to make the score 2-0. Sophomore right fielder Harrison Fonteix hit a ground out RBI to score Lansberry. Sophomore center fielder Joseph Connell added a RBI single and then stole second base. Senior shortstop Dave Zubia got the last hit of the inning with an RBI double.
Rutgers managed to get junior outfielder Joe Sirolli in scoring position after a double, but Close struck out junior catcher Shaune Collins to end the inning.
Moravian would add four more runs in the top of the third to make the score 9-0. Rock started the inning with a double. Lansberry then walked and Shortall was hit by a pitch to load the basses with one out. Fonteix then singled to drive in two runs. Connell followed that with a two RBI double.
Freshman third baseman Christopher Bell would get to third base after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the third, but Close would escape danger again by not allowing Bell to cross the plate.
The Greyhounds keep the scoring parade going in the fourth inning by adding three runs to put them up 12-0. Zubia started the top of the fourth with a single. Steinman added another single to put a man on first and third with one out. Rock then stepped to the plate and knocked the ball out of the park for his first homerun of this young season.
Senior first baseman C.J. Mooney started the bottom of the fourth with a single for the Scarlet Raptors, but Close shut the door by getting three straight outs by way of a fly out to center and two strike outs.
Zubia and senior first baseman Kevin O'Keefe got on base first in the fifth with a single and a double, respectively. Zubia then scored on a passed ball. Rock then came to the plate and hit an RBI double to score O'Keefe. Lansberry drove in the last run of the inning with a RBI single.
After a scoreless bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, the Scarlet Raptors got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Junior outfielder Bruce Monro started the inning with a single. He then stole second after Mooney struck out and senior second baseman Jon Hydock flied out to center. Classmate outfielder Jon Siswo and Sirolli hit back-to-back RBI doubles to make the score 15-2 after six innings.
Rutgers would continue to score after Close left the game and junior pitcher Frank Trautz came in for the seventh. Bell would start the seventh with a double and senior shortstop Joe Merlino followed that up with single. Classmate outfielder Tristan Keyser then singled home Bell. Merlino then scored after an error from sophomore second baseman Kyle Spence. The Scarlet Raptors would add another run after a wild pitch by Trautz. Rutgers would add one more run to make the score 15-7 after seven innings.
After a scoreless top of the eighth, sophomore pitcher Benjamin Hammel pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for the Greyhounds.
Moravian would load the bases in the top of the ninth with three walks from Spence, Lansberry and sophomore catcher Matthew Gutkes . Fonteix would then drive in two runs off a single. Connell then hit a RBI single and Hammel followed him with a RBI double for the last runs of the inning as the Greyhounds would take a 20-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
The Scarlet Raptors added one more run in the bottom of the ninth as Moravian went onto win 20-8.
Close earned the victory by pitching six innings while striking out six, and only allowing two runs. Hammel pitched two innings in relief while striking out one and only giving up one run. Trautz also pitched one inning in relief.
Connell finished 5-for-7 with four RBIs, two runs scored, a double and a stolen base. Steinman went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Zubia went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, one RBI and one double. Sophomore infielder Dan Seitzinger went 2-for-5 while Shortall went 1-for-1 with two runs scored and one RBI double. Lansberry drove in two runs and scored three while going 2-for-3 from the plate, and Fonteix drove in five runs while batting 3-for-6 from the plate.
Sirolli led Rutgers with two RBIs while going 3-for-5 from the plate. Mooney went 2-for-3 while Keyser went 2-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored. Merlino went 2-for-5 with one run scored while freshman first baseman Connor Hall went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
Senior pitcher Andrew Hoffman picked up the loss after going 2.1 innings while giving up nine runs.
The Greyhounds batted .304 (7-for-16) with runners in scoring position.
Moravian returns to action tomorrow, February 25th as they take on Hampden-Sydney College in the second day of the 5th Annual Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
