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John Malone worked five strong innings of relief, and Chris Winkler supplied a two-run double as the Bearcat baseball team won its first game of the season, 6-3 over Gwynedd Mercy University in Auburndale, FL.

The Bearcats started slowly against the Griffins' Matt Rakus, going down in order in the first three innings.  GMU got on the board in the fourth, scoring a pair of runs off SVC starter Cooper Ayres.

Down 2-0, Saint Vincent got a one-out single from Dylan Kugler to lead off the bottom of the fourth, then moved to second when Aaron Burger reached on an error.  Ben Webb then hit a grounder that was misplayed, allowing Kugler to score.

In the fifth, another Griffin error put Dylan Pietrantoni on first with one out, and TJ Kuny followed with a single.  Winkler then cleared the bases with a triple, putting SVC in front, 3-2.  Luke Fox followed with an RBI single.  After Fox moved to second on a groundout by Kugler, Burger singled home Fox to make it a 5-2 game.

Up 5-3, the Bearcats got an insurance run in the 6th, as Eddie Kilkeary tripled to lead off then scored on a Pietrantoni single.

It was more than enough for Malone (1-0), who entered the game in the fifth inning and worked the final five, allowing just one run on four hits.  

With the victory, the Bearcats improve to 1-3 on the year, while GMU drops to 0-5.  Up next for Saint Vincent will be the Raiders of the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Thursday (March 5) at 10:30AM in Winter Haven, FL.