Utica Baseball Falls to Lawrence in Florida
Fort Myers, Fl. (3/19/2013) – The Utica College baseball team lost to 2012 NCAA Tournament host Lawrence University, 9-2, on Tuesday afternoon at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida. The Pioneers (0-3) hope to rebound on Wednesday morning when they take on Plymouth State at 9 a.m. Immediately following the game against Plymouth, the Pioneers will finish their series against Wisconsin-Stout (rain delay in the bottom of 1st on Monday).
The Pioneers found themselves in an early 4-0 hole once against and they could not manage to fight back this time, despite scoring two runs in the final four innings of the nine inning affair. Freshman Joshua Webb made his first collegiate start on the mound for UC and fared well, scattering eight hits and four runs in 4.0 innings of work, while striking out four.
UC senior first baseman Nick Dunbar went 3-for-4 on the day and scored both of the Pioneers’ runs, while captain Alec Choleva went 1-for-3 on the day with one RBI. Junior third baseman Ronald Mannella also added one hit and one RBI on the afternoon for the Pioneers.
Outfielder Tyler Young kept swinging a hot bat for UC, going 3-for-4 on the afternoon to raise his team-high batting average to .700 through three games down south. Young is 7-for-10 so far this season and he also has nine total bases, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Utica’s James Richards came on in relief and struck out one batter in 2.1 innings of work. Freshman pitcher William Winsman also made his collegiate debut and scattered five hits and allowed just one run in the final two innings for UC.
Alex Brewer pitched seven innings and struck out five on the mound for Lawrence. The Vikings, out of Appleton, Wisconsin, posted 19 hits on the day, including four different players with three-hits each.