FLEMINGTON, N.J. – The Cairn University baseball team dropped both games to non-conference adversary Hood College in a doubleheader at Diamond Nation on Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders fell 6-5 in game one, before dropping a 6-2 decision to the Blazers in the nightcap.
Hood College (5-2) took the lead early, coming around to score in the first inning. The Blazers added a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings from a pair of doubles and lead-off, solo home run, stretching the lead to 3-0. Sophomore outfielder
Dylan Jackson (Levittown, PA / Chestnut Hill College) responded with a two-run homerun, his first collegiate round trip, to deep right field, scoring senior third baseman
Sam Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury HS) and putting Cairn (0-3) on the board, the score now standing at 3-2 in favor of Hood after four innings. Freshman
Josh Munizza (Philadelphia, PA / Franklin Towne Charter) also recorded his first career hit on a lead-off single in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hood brought three more runs across the plate in the sixth frame (6-2) with the Highlanders responding equally in the bottom of the inning. Jackson drove in sophomore shortstop
Jared Sucro (Kamloops, BC / St. Ann's Academy) on a sacrifice fly to left field, before freshman
Greg Jessup (Dallas, TX / McKinney Christian Academy) followed with his first career hit, a two-RBI double, driving in freshman
Zach Bauers (Cooper City, FL / Cooper City HS) and Spadea.
Cairn would be held to five runs in game one on six hits with Hood taking the victory with six runs on eight hits. Sophomore left-handed pitcher
Joe Battaglia (Brielle, NJ / Brentwood Academy) took the loss, throwing five innings while allowing five runs on seven hits to go along with a career-high seven strikeouts. Graduate students
Ben Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury HS) and
Bryan Stimpson (Monroeville, NJ / Cornell University) each tossed an inning in relief, recording a strikeout each.
Game two got underway in the same fashion as game one with Hood taking an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Following the Blazers' run in the top of the second, sophomore
Tyler Warr (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy HS) got the Highlanders on the board in the bottom half, blasting a home run to right field in his first plate appearance of the young season, driving in Spadea and bringing the score to 3-2. Bauers had a stellar game behind the plate, throwing out three Hood potential base stealers in four attempts. In game two, the Blazers scored six runs on eleven hits, while the Highlanders were held to two runs on one hit and one error.
Freshman
Evan Hughes (Levittown, PA / Neshaminy, HS) got the start in game two, tossing five innings, allowing five runs on six hits.
Ben Spadea made his second appearance of the day out of the bullpen, throwing one inning and holding Hood to one run on one hit. Sophomore left-handed pitcher
Brett Bottinger (Plymouth Meeting, PA / Chestnut Hill College) tossed a scoreless frame, recording one strikeout.
The Highlanders host the Pacers of Marywood University at home in Langhorne on Wednesday, March 8 before heading to Spring Training in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the end of next week. First pitch on Wednesday at the Stillman Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m.
