Friday morning, the Florida Spring Break trip for the Marian University Ancilla Baseball team came to a close with two final games. First, the Chargers squared off against Region 12 foe Owens Community College, falling 5-3 in a hard-fought, 9-inning contest. Then in the middle of the day, the Chargers faced the Wood Ducks of Century College in Minnesota. That matchup ended up being a shortened 5-inning affair after they found themselves trailing 12-0. Below is a quick look at some highlights from each game.
GAME-1 (L 5-3): The Chargers got the scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd inning, as they manufactured 2 runs. First, Freshman Wes McNeff singled, followed by Sophomore Isaiah Steinhilber being hit by a pitch. Freshman Nolan Pizzo then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners one base. Freshman Jose Paris battled at the plate, but on strike-3, the catcher lost track of the ball, Paris was safe at first, and the other 2 runners advanced a base, scoring McNeff. Finally, with two outs, Sophomore Traevyn Shoaf walked to load the base, then Sophomore John Morgan also walked, scoring Steinhilber, and it was 2-0 Marian Ancilla.
Owens slowly crept back, scoring a run in the top of the 3rd, the top of the 4th, and the top of the 5th, taking a 3-2 lead, and it wasn't until the 9th inning that anyone scored again. Owens began the inning by plating 2 more runs, making it a tough-to-overcome 5-2 advantage. However, the Chargers tried their best. They were able to add another score as Freshman Isaak Osborne tagged from 3rd base and scored on a sacrifice fly, closing the deficit to 5-3, but that was all they could manage.
Freshman starting pitcher Kaleb Short (1-1) picked up the decision, pitching a solid 5 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, but striking out 5 batters as well. Freshman Evan Lanphier had maybe his best outing of the season so far, tossing the other 4 innings, allowing just 1 earned run, and striking out 6 batters in relief. McNeff and Osborne each hit safely twice, combining for all 4 Charger hits in this one.
GAME-2 (L 12-0): In the second game of the day, walks and errors again doomed the Chargers, as the Wood Ducks were able to score 2 runs in the 1st, 4 in the second, and 5 in the 3rd. Additionally, singles by Sophomores Blaze Schultz and Traevyn Shoaf were all Marian Ancilla could really muster, though the Chargers did draw 6 walks themselves. Redshirt Freshman Aiden Diaz (0-1) was credited with the loss. The Chargers were able to steal 4 bases in 5 innings, and Freshman Logan Clark nabbed 2 of those.
The Chargers now have a little time off, as they don't play again until Sunday, March 16th, when they host Olive-Harvey in double-header action. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. ET. Please come out and support the Chargers, as they look to get their home season started off on the right foot!!
