Plymouth State Baseball Wins Opener, Drops Nightcap Against Lyndon State

Lyndon Center, Vt.-- In non-conference action, the Plymouth State University Baseball team won the first game on a Sunday (4/15) doubleheader against Lyndon State College at Skip Pound Field, but fell to the Hornets in the second game of the afternoon.

The Panthers showed their hitting prowess in the opener, slamming the Hornets with 17 hits. Contributing to the offensive onslaught was senior Mike Cappiello (Westfield, N.J.) who knocked in three RBI's as a part of Plymouth's 11-2 victory over Lyndon State. Senior Luke Merrill (Pittsburg, N.H.) continued his strong season with three hits along with classmate Justin Campo (Londonderry, N.H.)."We hit the ball when we needed to and pitching was good," said freshmen Jeff Reynolds (Nashua, N.H.).  Junior Rew Wilson (Niantic, Conn.) secured the win for the Panthers on the mound, hurling 4 2/3 innings. Wilson let up two runs on six hits to snag his fourth win of the season. He improves to 4-2 on the mound this year. Sophomore pitcher Spencer Webb (Warwick, R.I.) shut down Lyndon's bats for the remainder of the first game.

The Hornets stung back in the second game with a three-run seventh inning to snatch the victory, 10-9. Plymouth State took an early 9-1 lead, but Lyndon State's bats awoke, shocking the visiting green and white with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. The home team's momentum only grew as the game wore on. "We kept the other team in the game for too long. Rather than getting a serious lead on Lyndon, we got a fairly comfortable one and it ended up costing us," said Reynolds. "We need to work on taking the other teams out of the game early and taking advantage of every scoring opportunity." Even with consecutive three-hit performances by Merrill and Campo, PSU was unable to maintain their winning ways. Webb took the loss on the mound for the Panthers, while Lyndon's James Neal earned the win for his team while pitching in relief. With the non-conference split, Plymouth State Baseball becomes 11-15 on the season (1-6 in Little East Conference). Lyndon State is 4-20 on the

season.

The Panthers will look to rebound on Tuesday (4/17) as they take on conference rivals, Keene State at home, where PSU is 2-3 this season. "We need to get a lead early, maintain that lead, and shut them down with pitching," Reynolds said. A win against Keene would be an excellent way for Plymouth