Worcester State 7, William Patterson 5
William Patterson 6, Worcester State 4
Game 1 --- Box Score
Game 2 --- Box Score
Wayne, N.J. – First-year head coach Mike Lauterhahn earned
his first career victory as the William Paterson baseball team
(1-1) opened its 2008 season with a doubleheader split against
Worcester State (1-3) March 9 in blustery and cold conditions at
Pioneer Baseball Park.
The Lancers rallied in the top of the seventh of Game One for a 7-5
victory, while the Pioneers bounced back to win the nightcap, 6-4.
Both games were seven innings.
William Paterson jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening game.
Sophomore Scott Fischer (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.)
plated junior John Elia (Emerson, N.J.) with a
RBI-single in the fourth, while junior Will
Courter (Roseland, N.J.) reached base in the fifth on an
error, moved to second after a poor pick-off throw, was sacrificed
to third by Dan Limone (Teaneck, N.J.), and scored
following a Mike Guadango (Upper Saddle River,
N.J.) single. Elia plated the final WP run in the bottom of the
sixth, singling up the middle, moving to third after another failed
pick-off attempt, and trotting home after Don Hays
(Paramus, N.J.) singled through the left side.
The Lancers scored their first runs of the game in their final
at-bat, exploding for seven scores. With the bases loaded and one
out, Matt Hart’s (Easton, MA) single up the
middle plated two runs, and following a hit batsman, Nate
Nelson (Worcester, MA) launched a shot over the 375-foot
sign on the left-center fence, a grand slam that gave Worcester
State a 6-4 edge. Nick Caparell (N. Attleboro, MA)
later added a run-scoring single for a 7-3 score.
The Pioneers were able to score two runs in the bottom of the
seventh. Sophomores Vin Ganz (Waterbury, Conn.)
and Andrue Laguerre (Jersey City, N.J.) led off
the inning with consecutive singles, and following a fly-out and
then a strikeout, Ganz stole third when the Lancers were
conferencing on the mound. Laguerre took second on the next pitch,
important bases since Guadango was able to single up the middle and
score both runners.
Guadango was 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Hays was 2-for-3 with a
RBI and Elia was 1-for-1 with a pair of runs scored for the
Pioneers. For Worcester State, Caparell was 3-for-4, and Nelson was
2-for-3 with four RBI via the grand slam.
Junior Dan VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, N.J.) threw
six innings of shutout ball for William Paterson, scattering six
hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Freshman Chris
Mongelli (Riverdale, N.J.) suffered the loss (0-1),
allowing four hits and four runs in 0.1 inning. Senior
Steve Schlitzer (West New York, N.J.) threw the
final 0.2 inning, allowing four hits and three runs.
Joey Lucier (Brockton, MA) started for the
Lancers, allowing five hits and two runs (one earned) in 5.0
innings. Josh Buzzell (New Braintree, MA) earned
the victory (1-0) in relief with five hits and three runs (two
earned) in 2.0 innings.
William Paterson wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the
second half of the twinbill, scoring a single run in the bottom of
the first. Laguerre led off with a single to left-center, followed
by a Courter flare down the right-field line, advancing Laguerre to
third. Following a wild pitch that moved Courter to second and a
fielder’s choice that resulted in Laguerre being thrown out
at the plate, senior Anthony Perrone (Midland
Park, N.J.) drove Courter home with a single to right field for a
1-0 lead.
Back-to-back RBI-singles by Caparell and Nick
Dortona (Revere, MA) in the top of the fourth gave the
Lancers a 2-1 lead, but the Pioneers answered with five runs during
the home half of the inning for a 6-2 edge. Limone and Laguerre
each drove in a run, Guadango plated two with a triple, and Perrone
knocked in the final run with a sacrifice fly.
Ryan Raleigh’s (Cranston, RI) two-run single
in the top of the seventh made it a 6-4 game, but that was as close
as Worcester State would get to forcing extra innings.
Sophomore Scott Zirul (Cedar Grove, N.J.) picked
up his first victory as a Pioneer (1-0), striking out four while
allowing seven hits and four runs in 6.0 innings. Senior
Steve VandeVrede (Lincoln Park, N.J.) earned the
save after entering the game with no outs in the seventh and a
runner on first, getting a pop-up, fielder’s choice, walk and
strikeout to end the game.
Joel Brierley (New Bedford, MA) suffered the loss
(0-2), giving up seven hits and four earned runs in 3.0 innings,
striking out three and walking one. Pat Good
(Hull, MA) allowed two runs on two hits in 2.0 innings, and
Craig McBride (Attleboro, MA) struck out two
Pioneers in 1.0 inning of relief.
Laguerre, Courter and Limone each had two hits for WP, while
Guadango and Perrone each drove in a pair of runs.
Courtesy William Paterson Sports Information