ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College baseball team split a pair of contests Saturday afternoon, as the Raptors began the regular season by hosting Mount Saint Mary College for a doubleheader.
Bard beat the Knights, 5-3, in Game One, before falling in Game Two, 8-3. The Raptors are now 1-1 on the season, while Mount St. Mary moved to 2-3.
The Knights struck first in Game One, as a single and wild pitch allowed the visitors to put two runs on the board in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the inning, the Raptors responded with a run of their own, thanks to a Jeff Goldrosen single and a throwing error on the Knights.
Mount St. Mary added another RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it a 3-1 game, but left men on second and third with just one out, as Zach Johnson was able to pitch his way out of trouble for Bard.
Those stranded runners proved costly for the guests, as the Raptors scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Following a Jordan Myers' walk and a Julian Gonzalez double, David Schlosser tied the contest up on a double of his own on the next at bat.
Schlosser then stole third and scored the winning run on a wild pitch during the next at bat. A couple batters later, Goldrosen again singled in a run to pad the lead to 5-3, where the game would finish.
Johnson earned the win for the Raptors in his first ever collegiate outing, while Zach Hayes picked up the save following a perfect sixth and seventh inning.
Schlosser finished with two runs, two walks, two RBI, a hit and a stolen base. Goldrosen knocked in two hits and two RBI as well.
Nick Rizzo (Smithtown, NY) led the Knights with a run, an RBI and two hits in the effort. Jake Stewart (Wallkill, NY) finished with the loss.
In Game Two, things got off to a rocky start for the Raptors, as the hosts fell behind 6-0 after two innings.
They did rebound with three runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to a Matt Lasky two-run triple and an RBI single from Mike Pizzuto.
However, that was as close as Bard would get the rest of the way. Mount St. Mary added two more runs in the fourth and sixth innings, while the Raptors' offense never truly threatened a rally attempt.
Luke Klatke finished with the loss for the Raptors. He allowed six earned runs on five hits in two innings of work. Lasky finished with the two RBI and two hits, while Pizzuto also added two hits and the RBI. Schlosser added a run and two walks in the Game Two loss.
The Knights meanwhile, were powered by Chris Introcaso (Newburgh, NY). He finished with two hits, two runs, three RBI, a triple and a home-run. Blake Keenan (Fishkill, NY) earned the win following four innings of shutout relief.
Up next for the Raptors is another doubleheader tomorrow (3/11), beginning at noon. They will host Middlebury College and you can follow that game right here.
