Bel Air, MD - The Notre Dame of Maryland baseball team opened up their conference play on Saturday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader against Valley Forge. The Gators fell 9-2 in game one, but secured the victory in game two 7-1.
Game 1 : Notre Dame of Maryland 2 - Valley Forge 9
Valley Forge opened the scoring early with an RBI single in the first inning to lead 1-0. The Patriots added to the lead yet again with another RBI single, before breaking open the game in the third inning. A combination of two doubles and two singles extended the Patriots lead to 4-0.
Valley Forge continued to build an early lead with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, an RBI single in the sixth inning, and another sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to make it 9-0.
The Gators answered in the bottom half of the inning with a single by Ben Boyer, who later scored off of Zane Cook's stand up double to right center. The Gators added another run in the ninth inning, highlighted by Hunter Beil's triple and Boyer's sacrifice fly to bring him in.
The Patriots lead was too much for the Gators to overcome, falling 9-2 in game one.
Cook led the Gators in offense going 2 for 4 with one RBI. Beil and Boyer both added one hit a piece.
Joshua Boyd received the loss on the mound pitching four innings allowing nine hits and seven runs.
Game 2 : Notre Dame of Maryland 7 - Valley Forge 1
The Gators wasted no time jumping ahead in the bottom of the first inning. Chase Cichocki sparked the offense with a leadoff double, setting the tone early. Two batters later, Beil delivered a two-run home run to right-center field to give the Gators a quick 2-0 advantage.
Notre Dame added to their lead in the second inning. With runners in scoring position, Mark Reineke came through with a two-RBI single, extending the margin to 4-0.
The offense picked back up in the fourth inning, beginning with a leadoff double from Brennan Deremeik. Reineke stayed hot at the plate, driving in another run with an RBI single into left field. Later in the inning, Boyer laced an RBI double to cap the scoring for the Gators, pushing the lead to 7-0.
Valley Forge managed to push across a run from a bases loaded walk, but Notre Dame's pitching staff kept the opposition in check the rest of the way, preserving the 7-1 win.
Reineke led the offensive effort going 2 for 4 with three RBI's Beil added a hit and two RBI's.
On the mound, Donny White pitched the first four innings allowing only three hits with three strikeouts. Brysen Keithley earned the win in relief pitching three innings with no hits allowed and only one earned run.
The Gators look to take Game 2's momentum into their next doubleheader on the road against McDaniel College on Sunday, March 22nd. Game one is scheduled for 12:00 pm.
