CAMDEN, N.J. - The Wilson College baseball team hit the road for a non-conference series against the Raptors of Rutgers-Camden, earlier this afternoon. The Phoenix (7-2, 0-0 CSAC) were defeated by the Raptors (4-4, 0-0 NJAC) by a score of 6-5 in eight innings for the first game and by 10-4 in five innings in the second.
Game One: Wilson wasted little time getting the bats going in this game, as fifth-year senior
KJ Curry (Bowie, MD., Coker University) got the game started with a base knock to right field. Later on in the inning, junior
Michael Marrale (Sykesville, MD, Old Dominion Univ.) reached base on an error that drove in
Curry, bringing the score to 1-0 after the top of the first. Freshman
Adrian Lugo (San Juan, Puerto Rico, Manuel Cruz Maceira HS) got the nod for the Phoenix on the mound, striking out two batters in the bottom half of the inning before Camden managed to tie the game up at 1-1. In the bottom of the third, the Raptors added two more runs as they took a 3-1 lead going into the fourth inning. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Camden added one more run, bringing the score to 4-1. The Phoenix managed to earn a run back off a single through the left side of the infield off the bat of
Marrale, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After Rutgers took another run in the bottom of the fifth, but Wilson tied the game up in the top of the seventh. Senior
Juan Rosario (Hollywood, FL., Hollywood Hills) drove in the first run on an RBI groundout while sophomore
Brady Andre (Brookeville, MD, Sherwood HS) knocked in the next run on a single to left. Then, freshman
Doc Daniels (Deal Island, MD, Crisfield HS) slapped in the tying run to end the inning as both teams went into extra innings knotted up at five runs apiece. The Phoenix dropped this one in the bottom of the eighth inning by a final score of 6-5.
Inside the Box Score: Marrale went 3-4 with an RBI,
Andre went 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while sophomore
Haden Hoff (Westminster, MD, Fairmont State Univ.) went 2-3 with a walk. The bullpen combined for eight strikeouts, as
Lugo finished tallying four of those. Wilson notched five runs on 14 hits with three errors, while the opponents added six runs on 11 hits with one error.
Game Two: Both teams went down in order to start the first inning of game two, but Wilson got the offense rolling in the second.
Marrale started off the inning with a double followed by senior
Gerald Buchanan (Olney, MD, Montgomery CC (MD)) who drove
Marrale in off an RBI double to left field. The next batter,
Andre, knocked in
Buchanan with an RBI single that pushed the score to 2-0. After getting into a jam in the bottom of inning number two, the Phoenix managed to work their way out of a jam but not before Rutgers went on add three runs, taking a 3-2 lead. After two routine innings, Wilson got the bats rolling in the top of the fifth. After
Hoff and junior
Dean Mercer (Dunedin, FL., Clearwater Central Catholic) slapped a pair of singles to the outfield,
Marrale drove in
Hoff off an RBI to center field.
Mercer added a run shortly after, scoring off a wild pitch from the Raptors as the Phoenix took a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. Wilson went on to lose this game by a final score of 10-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning; the game was called early due to darkness.
Inside the Box Score: Andre and
Marrale both ended the game going 2-3 with one RBI each,
Marrale added a double and a stolen base.
Hoff,
Mercer, and
Buchanan all went 1-3 with a run, with
Buchanan tallying an RBI double. The Phoenix scored four runs on seven hits with no errors while Rutgers added 10 runs on 12 hits with one error.
Up Next: Wilson will host a single-game series against Southern Virginia (3-2, 0-0 USAS) on Thursday, March 10, starting at 2 p.m.
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