Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LYNDHURST, N.J. – Felician University received strong starting pitching efforts from senior left-hander Drue Brooks (Spring Hill, Fla./Nature Coast Tech) and junior righty Jesus Colon (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Phelps School [Pa.]) and banged out a combined 30 base hits in sweeping a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference baseball doubleheader from the visiting University of the Sciences, 22-1 and 9-2, on Wednesday afternoon at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex.
Felician (15-6, 6-0 CACC) was playing its initial two contests since attaining a national ranking for the first time in program history. The Golden Falcons, who have won seven consecutive games, are ranked No. 23 in the most recent national NCAA Division II writers' poll.
Felician senior center fielder Andrew LaMura (Brick, N.J./Red Bank Regional) was 6 for 8 on the day with three doubles and a triple. Junior shortstop and leadoff man Bruce Strickland (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) went 5 for 6 with five runs scored. Strickland had a double in each game, and ran his career hit total to 152. He is the 14th player in Felician history to surpass 150.
The Golden Falcon offense set the tone for the day early, putting its first five men on base in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 and eventually scoring four times. Jason Polgano (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) got things started with an RBI triple before scoring on a wild pitch. LaMura doubled ahead of a Brennan Price (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) run-scoring single, and Ronnie Grant (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township) brought home the final run with a groundout.
After adding an unearned run in the second, Felician received a two-run inside-the-park home run from Grant in the third. The Golden Falcons continued to pile on, plating four runs in the fourth before extending to a 20-0 lead with a nine-run fifth.
Brooks (1-1), meanwhile, cruised through six scoreless frames. He allowed two hits and no walks while striking out five batters. Forty-six of his 67 pitches went for strikes.
LaMura finished 4 for 5 with a school-record-tying three doubles and four RBI, and Polgano was 3 for 5 with four RBI. Grant also drove in four runs, and Strickland was 3 for 3 and scored four times. Price was 3 for 3 plus a walk as the Golden Falcons amassed 22 hits to five for the Devils. Justin Skinner (Fort Worth, Texas/St. Augustine Prep) doubled in the ninth and scored on Mike Polastrelli's (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) sacrifice fly for USciences (6-14, 3-7).
Colon (2-1) made his first start as a Golden Falcon in the nightcap, a scheduled seven-inning affair. He completed five innings, allowing no runs on three hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Felician again put the game away early, this time with an eight-run second.
The Golden Falcons put their first two runners on base in the second on an error and a walk. Matt Diesel (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) followed with a three-run home run to right field. Felician then loaded the bases, and scored two runs on a dropped pop-up before Price capped the rally with a three-run double.
Mike Martone (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) drove in a run with a fourth-inning single to complete the Felician scoring, and the Devils tallied two unearned runs in the seventh. LaMura and Strickland were each 2 for 3, while Matt Miniconzi (Blacksood, N.J./Highland) went 2 for 2 plus a walk for USciences.
