OPENING DAY SWEEP
Siena wins two in season opening doubleheader against Iona
LOUDONVILLE, NY » Sunday afternoon was a perfect day for baseball, especially a season opening doubleheader. The Siena Saints made the most of their opportunity to get back in the field for the first time in over a year.
“Being inside for most of the last 25 days practicing, the guys were cooped up and ready to go,” said head coach Tony Rossi, whose team moved up their first games a week to play Iona. “That’s why we agreed to move this up to this weekend, which was supposed to be our bye weekend. We know as coaches that they were ready to play. They were chomping at the bit to get going.”
The first game was very different from the second. The first being a nail-biter down to the finish, with the second being a blowout that ended in a walk-off mercy rule - from a player in their first collegiate at-bat.
The Saints picked up two wins by the scores of 4-3 and 15-5.
“I was really pleased with the performance of everybody coming out on the grass today after the winter,” Rossi said.
In the first game, while trail
ing 1-0 in the second inning, Bryce Mordecki doubled in Eddie Sweeney to tie the game. Then Evan St. Claire singled in Mordecki with two outs to take the lead. Pat O’Hare tacked on a two-run home run in the sixth to add some muchneeded insurance.
Iona would score two in the top of the seventh, but Siena would hold on, picking up the win the the seven-inning game one.
The second game would be an offensive onslaught for the Saints, as they would score in every inning except the second in the 15-5 blowout.
St. Claire tacked on three more hits in the latter game, going 3-4, with two runs scored.
“It feels great to be back,” he said. “Playing over the summer was fun, but there’s nothing like MAAC action and it’s just great to be back out here and get two great team wins.”
Five other Saints had a multi-hit game in addition to St. Claire. Ryan McGee went 2-4 with 3 RBIs, Jake Hall was 2-2 with 2 RBIs, Sweeney was 2-4 with 3 RBIs and a home run, Carson Dunkel was 2-4 with 2 RBIs and Devan Kruzinski was 2-5. Altogether Siena complied 18 hits in the game.
St. Claire was also showing off his glove in centerfield, making a diving catch in deep right-centerfield to help prevent an Iona rally.
“It was tailing away, but right off the bat I knew that I had a shot at it. I just had to keep going after it,” St. Claire said.
“That catch was unreal,” Rossi added. “The kid can go get it with the best of ‘em. That was a catch that you see in the big leagues. Evan can run and he just went and got it.”
The celebration after that catch was nothing compared for was was in store on the final play of the game. With the second game set to go nine innings, Siena found themselves up 14-5 going into the bottom of the seventh. Then, freshman Wille Schwarick got his first career plate appearance.
He hit it out, it was a walk-off mercy rule win for Siena and the bench went crazy.
“Someone in the dugout did call Willie’s first collegiate home run in his first at-bat,” said Ryan McGee. “He did it and we went nuts. It was unreal for him and I’m so proud of him. He came in as a freshman and he’s gonna earn some time.”
Without any preseason games, Rossi is still looking to see what the guys on his roster are going to be able to do. Schwarick made quite a first impression.
“I made some substitutions today to get guys in the lineup to see what they could do and Schwarick hit the ball out. That leaves in impression in a coaches mind when you put someone in there and he does that. He’s gonna get another shot and you never know what’s gonna happen.”