The baseball team split a doubleheader with Sacred Heart Tuesday, winning the first game 7–3 before falling to the Pioneers (10-14) 5–4 in the nightcap.
Outfielder Andrew Moore ’11 had one of the best games of his season so far, going a combined 4–for–6 with three RBIs and a home run in the two games.
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Two three-run innings helped the Bulldogs (12-11-1) break their four-game losing streak in the afternoon game.
“It’s always nice to see the guys get some hits after a rough weekend,” Moore said. “This midweek series definitely increased our confidence at the plate.”
Captain Joe Castaldi ’10 allowed three earned runs in three and two-thirds innings before Robert Gruber ’10 came in relief for the final three and one-third. Gruber allowed one hit and earned his first win of the season along the way.
Down 1–0 in the bottom of the second inning after an RBI double by Sacred Heart, the Elis responded with a four-hit, three-run inning. Moore’s single to center field with runners on second and third scored two, and shortstop Matt Schmidt ’12 scored the third run of the inning when he walked, stole second — advancing to third on a throwing error — and then scored on a single from second baseman Gant Elmore ’11.
The Pioneers earned one run back in the third and tied things up 3–3 in the fourth on a two-out double from center fielder Mike Drowne. Facing runners at second and third, Gruber was brought in and got the next batter to fly out to center field to end the inning.
Elmore’s one-run double to right field in the bottom of the fourth gave the Elis the lead for good. The next inning, Yale had another three-run, four-hit display that was highlighted by a two-run single from Schmidt.
Gruber shut Sacred Heart down in the last two innings to end the seven inning game.
“It was good to get back on the winning side of things,” third baseman Andy Megee ’11 said.
An hour later the Bulldogs found themselves down 2–0 in the first inning after a double brought in two runners — one of whom had reached based on a fielding error by Megee, and the other who had been hit by a pitch.
After Yale got one run back in the bottom half of the first, Moore homered in the second inning to tie the game 2–2. It was his third home run of the season.
Sacred Heart did not let up, though, and immediately put two more runs on the board to make it 4–2. After scoring their second run of the inning, the Pioneers had runners on first and third with one out, but Yale was able to get out of the inning by pulling a 6–4–3 double play.
The Elis tied things up in the fifth inning using some “small ball.” After Cam Squires ’13 walked, Elmore bunted him to second. From there, Squires advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Megee.
The game remained tied until the seventh and final inning when pitcher Eric Shultz ’12 came in to relieve Chris Finneran ’10. With runners at second and third, Megee fielded a grounder at third and threw out the Sacred Heart runner at the plate. But Jeff Heppner, the next batter, singled through the right side to give his team the lead for good.
Squires had a single in the bottom of the seventh inning, but was caught stealing to end the game.
“The second game was pretty disappointing,” Megee said. “We thought we let that one slip away.”
The Bulldogs still have six games left on their homestand, which continues with visits from Cornell and Princeton this weekend.