ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College baseball team split a Liberty League doubleheader with St. Lawrence University on Saturday, losing Game 1, 3-2 in extra innings, and winning Game 2, 3-2, on a walk-off single by
Jordan Myers.
Game 1 matched the squads' respective aces, as St. Lawrence sent out senior lefty Alex Black (Ashland, MA), and Bard started senior
Evan Richardson, the league's strikeout leader. Not surprisingly, the result was a pitchers' duel.
It was scoreless until the top of the fourth, when the Saints pushed a run across with three straight two-out singles. Bard tied it in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded walk to
Justin Fiume.
St. Lawrence took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Joe DeGuardia (Ardsley, NY). It stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh of a game scheduled for seven. Black was throwing a two-hitter at that point.
Ryan Chipman led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to center, and he scored on a one-out single by
Alex Luscher. A double play got Black out of a jam and sent the game into extra innings, 2-2.
A one-out double by Evan O'Keeffe (Hopkinton, NH) drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, and although the Raptors got a couple of runners on with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Black finished his five-hit complete game. He struck out eight and walked five to improve to 2-1.
Richardson (2-4) worked in and out of trouble all day, giving up three runs on 12 hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Myers went 3-for-4.
Game 2 was 2-2 through three innings, and it stayed that until the bottom of the seventh.
Julian Gonzalez drew a leadoff walk in a nine-pitch at-bat, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Luscher, then scored when Myers bounced an RBI single up the middle to win it.
Alex Bunnell (4-0) got the win in relief of
Kyle Zigner, who gave up two runs on eight hits through five innings. Bunnell struck out three over two innings and shrunk his team-leading ERA to 1.96. Myers went 2-for-3, as did
Esteban Rivera and
Rory Maglich.
The teams will complete the four-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday. Follow it live right here.