PUNTA GORDA, Fla. – The Moravian College baseball team defeated Bluffton University, 4-2, Thursday afternoon in the Snowbird Classic. Freshman pitcher Brett Wagner earned his first collegiate victory in his first start after going 5.1 innings while striking out four and allowing one unearned run.
Sophomore pitcher Nate Simonds would start the game for the Beavers. He struck out the first two batters, and forced the third to pop up to the shortstop.
Wagner would get the nod on the mound for Moravian. He allowed the first two batters to get on base before getting a strike out and two pop ups to end the inning.
Sophomore third baseman Ryan Luke started the top of the second with a bunt single, and junior outfielder Joseph Connell followed with a single through the left side. Freshman first baseman Charles Savite then hit a single down the right field line to score Luke, but was thrown out trying to reach second base. Freshman designated hitter Jimmy McCarthy reached on an error by the shortstop while allowing Connell to score. McCarthy then moved to third after a stolen base and an error. Sophomore outfielder Justin Pilchman then reached on a dropped third strike while McCarthy scored to put Moravian up 3-0.
After getting one out and allowing two walks in the bottom of the sixth, Wagner's day would be done as junior Ben Hammel would come in for relief. Sophomore third baseman Jeff Roth then reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed junior outfielder David Ianiro. Hammel then struck out the next batter and forced the last batter to foul out to third.
Junior second baseman Daniel Seitzinger would reach on an error in the top of the eighth before a double play that put two outs on the board. Luke then walked while Connell drove home Seitzinger with a single to center field for the 4-1 lead.
Bluffton started the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back singles. Both runners were sacrificed over to second and third before senior outfielder Kyle Niermann drove one run in with a ground out to second base to make the score 4-2.
Savite would pitch the bottom of the ninth for the Greyhounds. He got the first batter to ground out before allowing back-to-back singles to the Beavers. Savite then caught a line drive right at him for the second at, and double up the guy on first for the double-play and end of the game.
Savite picked up the save, his first of his career, for the Greyhounds while Hammel went 2.2, striking out two and allowing one run. Connell went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run while Hanson went 2-for-4 with a double. McCarthy had one hit, one RBI, one run and a stolen base while Luke and Seitzinger both scored a run. Savite also went 1-for-4 at the plate with a RBI.
Simonds took the loss for Bluffton after pitching a complete game while allowing four runs and striking out four. Senior second baseman Anthony Cianci, junior catcher Tim Webb, sophomore first baseman Jake Townley all went 2-for-5 for the Beavers while sophomore shortstop Mike Castro went 2-for-3.
Moravian will play a doubleheader against Muskingum University tomorrow, March 8th in the Snowbird Classic. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
