Panther Baseball Fares Fort Myers

The Plymouth State men’s baseball team went 6-4 at Fort Myers, Fla. during spring break, improving their overall record to 6-5. The Panthers lost their first game of the Gene Cusic Classic in a come– back by Augustana College (Illinois). The 20th-ranked Vikings scored several runs in the 6th inning and put up four more in the 8th inning, defeating the panthers 11-3. Plymouth then went on to sweep Vassar College in a doubleheader the following day. The Panthers won the first game 10-5, and the second game 10-0 with the help of Senior James Garnett (Newport, R.I.), who had five hits, including four for extra bases, and drove in five runs. It was the first two wins of the season for Pl ymouth.

The Panthers took on Saint Joseph’s College of Long Island the next day and went 1-1, winning the first game 4-3, and taking a loss in the second game 3-6. The Panthers came away with a victory in the first matchup with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning by sophomore Josh Goulet (Nashua, N.H.). Goulet’s hit pushed the pan- thers past the Golden Eagles, who had tied the game in the second inning 3-3. In the second game of the day, Plymouth trailed the Golden Eagles 4-3 going into the fourth inning. Saint Joseph’s scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, allowing them to pull away from the panthers and win 6-3.

Plymouth took its third loss of the trip on Wednesday, March 22, when they went up against St. Lawrence University. Plymouth trailed St. Lawrence 5-3 when the Saints put four runs on the board in the seventh inning. Plymouth had a late rally of its own scoring 5 runs in the 8th inning, but stranded the tying run at second base. Junior Nate Frederick (Worcester, MA) and Senior Eric Leitch (Lanesboro, MA) led Plymouth with three hits each.

The Panthers stayed focused after the two-game losing streak and won in a nail biter against Johns Hopkins University the following day. The Blue Jays held a one run lead at 3-2 going into the 8th inning where Plymouth tied the game with a single while the bases were loaded by Junior Cam Ruziak (Sterling, MA.). Nate Frederick (Worcester, MA.) drew a bases-loaded walk in during the bottom of the ninth inning to give the panthers the win with a score of 4-3.

Plymouth State added the last two wins of their trip to the Gene Cusic Classic to their record when they swept Colby College in a non-conference doubleheader last Friday. Sophomore Geoff Kayo (Londonderry, N.H.) played a key part in Plymouth’s win in the first game, allowing only three runs (none of them earned), four hits and two walks in several innings of play. Plymouth scored three runs in the fourth inning to take the lead 4-2. Colby College scored a run in the seventh inning but was held off by Kayo, giving the panthers the 4-3 win. Sophomore Dylan Gaita (Melrose, MA.) played excellent as well in the second game of the day, allowing only one hit and no walks over a span of several innings on the mound. Plymouth scored the only run of the second game in the top of the third inning when Freshman Andrew Salta (Laconia, N.H.) scored on an RBI single by Ryan Richard (Berlin, N.H.).

Plymouth lost the final game of their trip to Florida in a rematch against Johns Hopkins University. The Blue Jays held a 2-0 lead on the panthers going into the sixth inning where Plymouth scored two runs to tie the game. Johns Hopkins scored a single run in the seventh inning to take back the lead. Plymouth rallied two runs in the ninth inning, pulling within one run of the Blue Jays. Sophomore Matt DeCina (Hopkinton, MA.) singled a homerun and Freshman Andrew Salta (Laconia, N.H.) was able to score a run on an error. The panthers had a tying run in scoring position, but Johns Hopkins pitcher Nick Burns struck out the last batter, awarding the Blue Jays with a 5-4 win.

The panthers return to New England this week to play their annual game at Babson College at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30.