NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Mar. 14)- The Saint Vincent baseball team was swept by the Apprentice School in the opening two games of a four-game series in Newport News
The Bearcats fell 2-1 in a pitcher's duel in the opening game, before the Builders handed SVC a 13-10 defeat in an offensive explosion in the nightcap.,
GAME ONE- Apprentice School 2, SVC 1
The Bearcats found themselves on the wrong end of a classic pitcher's duel, as the two teams combined for just three hits and 10 runs.
SVC hurler Tyler Dancu turned in arguably the Bearcats' finest start this season, going the distance and allowing just two runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
Apprentice School's Nick Redman was just as effective, as he worked 6.1 innings and limited the Bearcats to one run on four hits with four Ks, before giving way to teammate Justin Bradshaw, who stranded a runner in scoring position in recording the two-out save.
Offensively, Dylan Schmude, Mario Disso, Billy Perroz, and Vincent Amatucci all recorded one hit. L.J. Evans had the lone RBI in the game for the Bearcats.
Dancu cruised through three innings for the Bearcats as the game remained scoreless through the third, striking out three and scattering just three hits in the span.
Disso had the lone hit for Saint Vincent through the first three innings. The Builders were the first to get on the board, striking for two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.
Saint Vincent responded with a run of their own in the fifth to cut the lead in half, when Evans' sacrifice fly plated Amatucci, who had singled earlier in the inning, to cut the gap to 2-1.
Both the Builders and Bearcats went scoreless in the sixth as the game headed to the seventh with SVC still trailing, 2-1.
In the seventh, Perroz reached on a one-out double, representing the tying run at second base, but Bradshaw escaped the jam by inducing a pair of groundouts to end the game.
GAME TWO- Apprentice School 13, SVC 10
The Bearcats came back from a big early deficit by scoring nine fourth-inning runs, but the Apprentice School's offense was too much, as the Builders scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good and pull away for the 13-10 win.
Jacob Auld led the way in game two for the SVC offense, as the rookie recorded two hits, including a 3-run home run, his first career longball. Evans was a second SVC batter to record three hits, while also driving in one.
Austin Tirpak had two hits, while Deven Haywood recorded one base knock.
The Builders scored four in the first and added five more in the second to open up to a 9-0 lead in the third inning.
Saint Vincent began to cut into the Apprentice School lead with a big top half of the fourth inning. First, Evans ripped an RBI-double to center field that scored Tirpak. T.J. Bucy followed with an RBI, reaching first on an error to score Auld and cut the score to 9-2.
Reid Rachwal followed with an RBI-hit by pitch, scoring Evans to cut it to 9-3. Saint Vincent wasn't done yet, as the Bearcats scored three more in the inning. Haywood walked, scoring Nico Buffone, and Lane Golkosky followed with an RBI fielders choice, which scored Bucy to cut it to 9-4.
In his second at bat of the inning, Tirpak smacked an RBI double to the left field corner to plate Rachwal and make it 9-6, before Auld's three-run shot cleared the bases and tied the game at 9-9.
The tie wouldn't last long as the Builders scored four more runs in the fifth to open up a 13-9 lead.
The Bearcats scored another run in the top of the sixth, as Buffone was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the gap to 13-10, but SVC would get no closer, going down in order in the top of the seventh.
Saint Vincent returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, with two more games against the Apprentice School. First pitch for game one is slated for 1 p.m. in Newport News.
