Baseball ends Florida trip with loss against Dominican

The Muskingum baseball team ended its Florida spring trip with a 3-0 loss against Dominican on Saturday morning.

Dominican scored one in the first inning and added two more runs in the third frame to complete the scoring and hand the Muskies their first shutout loss of the young season. Muskingum ended the contest with five hits. Junior Marc Ibarra led the team with two hits, while freshman Ryan Hernandez, junior Ben Van Wey and senior Brad Donathan all had one hit. 

Freshman pitcher Nolan Fernandes took the loss after going six innings and allowing three runs on six hits, with seven strikeouts. George Sherman fired a complete game five-hitter to garner the win. Colin Janison led Dominican at the plate going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored.

Muskingum (4-5) next hosts Hiram on Friday, March 16 at Mose Morehead Field. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Friday, March 9 - The Muskingum baseball team swept Delaware Valley on Friday afternoon at the Lawnwood Sports Complex in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Muskies took the opener 10-5 and won the nightcap, 1-0. Muskingum now stands at 4-4 overall.

In the opener, Muskingum jumped out to a 7-3 lead after three innings to take control en route to the win. Junior Ben Van Wey led the team going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a double. Senior Brad Donathan added a two-run double and senior Eddie Harper, sophomore Holden Martin and freshman Matt Stewart all had one RBI. Junior Evan Hinds collected his second win after going six innings and allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits, with seven strikeouts. Muskingum ended the game with 10 runs on 14 hits.

In game two, the Muskies scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Sophomore Holden Martin scored from third on a wild pitch to lift Muskingum to the win. Martin singled with two outs and moved to third on freshman Matt Stewart's base hit. Stewart and junior Marc Ibarra led the team with two hits each. Freshman Ryan Hernandez fired a complete game four-hitter with seven strikeouts to earn his first career win.

Muskingum concludes its play in Florida with a 10:00 a.m. game against Dominican (Ill.) on Saturday, March 10.

Thursday, March 8 - Muskingum sophomore Josh Bigrigg fired seven strong innings and the Muskie bats hammered out 18 hits to lead the squad past Bridgewater St. on Thursday afternoon, 11-3.

Bigrigg earned his first win of the young season after limiting Bridgewater St. to one run on seven hits through seven innings. He ended the outing with four strikeouts.

Senior Eddie Harper opened the Muskie scoring in the first inning with an RBI triple and the Muskies added three more runs to take an early 4-0 lead. Freshman Ryan Hernandez had an RBI single in the second inning and sophomore Holden Martin belted an RBI double in the third inning to extend the Muskie edge to 6-1. Muskingum tacked on two runs in the fifth and sixth innings and completed its scoring with an RBI walk in the seventh by Hernandez. Muskingum ended the game with 11 runs on 18 hits.

Harper ended the game going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Junior Michael Pagano went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs and a double, while Martin ended with two RBIs.

Bridgewater St. scored two runs on nine hits. Alex Carey, Lewis Robinson and Ryan Kelleher all has two hits. Connor Birch took the loss after going 2.1 innings and allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits.

Muskingum next plays Delaware Valley for a doubleheader on Friday, March 9. Game one is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 7 - The Muskingum baseball team suffered a heartbreaking extra-inning loss against LaRoche on Wednesday, 17-16. The 10-inning affair lasted four hours.

Muskie senior Brad Donathan tied the game (16-16) in the top of the ninth with a clutch two-run single. However, LaRoche staved off the Muskie comeback and claimed the walkoff win in the bottom of the 10th on Joe Professo's RBI double.

Muskingum ended the outing with 16 runs on 16 hits, while LaRoche mustered 17 runs on 20 hits.

Senior Eddie Harper led the Muskies with five RBIs, while freshman Matt Stewart added three RBIs and Donathan had two RBIs. Sophomore Bryce Husted was tagged with the loss after tossing 3.1 innings of relief and allowing seven runs (six earned)

LaRoche was led by Philip Pieto who tallied five RBIs on three hits. Philip Pieto also added four hits and four runs for the Redhawks. Shane Emrich earned the win after allowing two runs on one hit in two innings of relief work.

Muskingum next plays Bridgewater State on Thursday, March 8. Game time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.                                   

Tuesday, March 6 - The Muskingum baseball team slipped 6-2 against Lebanon Valley at Fort Pierce, Florida on Tuesday morning.

The Muskies were held to two runs on seven hits. Senior Eddie Harper led the team going 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run. Freshman Nolan Fernandes was handed the loss after going six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, with five strikeouts.

Lebanon Valley plated six runs on 12 hits. Josh Marcelli led the team with two RBIs. Dylan Stephen notched the win after going seven innings and allowing one run on five hits, with six strikeouts. 

Muskingum next plays LaRoche on Wednesday, March 7. Game time is slated for 4:00 p.m.

Monday, March 5 - The Muskingum baseball team lost 20-11 against Elizabethtown at Fort Pierce, Florida on Monday morning.

Elizabethtown used a seven-run third inning to take an 8-2 lead and control of the game en route to securing the neutral-site win against the Muskies.

Freshman Matt Stewart went 4-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs to pace the Muskie attack. Senior Eddie Harper went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored to aid the Muskie effort. Muskingum scored 11 runs on 16 hits, but were haunted by five errors. Freshman Ryan Hernandez was handed the loss after going 2.2 innings and allowing eight runs (one earned) on six hits.

Elizabethtown scored 20 runs on 17 hits, with Mike Christy and Derek Manning each hitting a home run.

Muskingum next plays Lebanon Valley on Tuesday, March 5. Game time is slated for 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 4 - The Muskingum baseball team opened its season with a doubleheader split against Immaculata on Sunday at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Muskies won the opener 7-1 and fell in the nightcap, 7-5.

In the opener, Muskingum scored seven runs on 11 hits. Junior Marc Ibarra, freshman Ryan Hernandez, junior Nate Mejia and freshman Matt Stewart all logged a pair of hits. Mejia and Stewart led the way with two RBIs each. Junior Evan Hinds earned the win with six strong innings of three-hit ball with one earned run and two strikeouts. Immaculata ended the contest with just three hits.

In game two, Immaculata scored seven runs on 12 hits to garner the split. Muskingum mustered five runs on nine hits and had the game-tying run at the plate when the game ended. Ibarra and senior Brad Donathan each had two hits and junior Michael Pagano belted a two-out, two-run double. Sophomore Josh Bigrigg took the loss after going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits with two strikeouts.

Muskingum next plays Elizabethtown on Monday, March 5. Game time is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.