New London, NH - Vermont University Lyndon got a gem on the mound from senior Joey Hanlon (Trinity, FL), then rallied from a five run deficit to complete the sweep of Wednesday's non-conference baseball doubleheader at Colby-Sawyer College. The Hornets improved to 8-19 on the season, while the Chargers fell to 10-20.
Game 1 - VTSU Lyndon 3, Colby-Sawyer 0
Zach Rogers was the starting pitcher for the Chargers. Sophomore center fielder Evan Duncan (Little Elms, TX) led off the top of the first by reaching first base on an error. Duncan stole second and third to put himself in scoring position with no outs. Rogers would have runners on the corners with a walk to freshman third baseman Bryan Nazario (Little Elms, TX). Rogers got his third strikeout to get a big first out. Duncan scored on an error by the pitcher and Nazario ended up at third with still one out. Junior first baseman Ryan Alt (Poultney, VT) singled to bring in Nazario to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead. He was followed with another single from junior designated hitter Matthew Gonyeau (Saint Albans, VT). Colby Sawyer would get the second out, but Alt and Gonyeau advanced to second and third. Freshman catcher Austin Bigelow (East Hampton, CT) walked to load the bases, but Rogers was able to get the third out with a ground out to third.
Senior Joey Hanlon (Trinity, FL) was the starting pitcher for the Hornets. To get Colby-Sawyer started, Dylan Watson got a leadoff walk. Lyndon caught Watson stealing second base to get the first out. The next batter flew out, but Mike McLeer hit a double to keep the inning going. Hanlon left McLeer stranded on second with a strikeout to end the top of the first.
To start the top of second inning, junior left fielder Dalton Berry (Tavares, FL) hit a leadoff double, but the Hornets couldn't bring him in. Leadoff batter for the second half of the second Sean Roeger walked, but was also caught stealing second base. The Hornets got their second out with a fly out. The Chargers kept the inning alive with a single from pinch hitter Colin Snyder, but Hanlon got his third out with a ground out to third base.
From the third inning to the fifth inning, both pitchers didn't allow any runs and hits. Rogers was the only player from both teams to reach base on a walk in the fourth.
In the top of the sixth inning, Alt got Lyndon going with a single and later advanced to second on a passed ball. Gonyeau walked and that put runners on first and second with no outs. Senior second baseman Dale Ostermann (Harrington, DE) reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with one out. Bigelow also reached on a fielder's choice and that brought in Alt to put the score 3-0. Ostermann was out at second on the play. Gonyeau was called out on home on a fielder's choice by freshman Sean Dunton (Quechee, VT). That gave the Charger's their second out of the inning and later got out with a ground out.
In the bottom of the sixth, Watson got on base to start a potential rally. The Hornets got a big double-play with a strikeout and an out at second. The Chargers got two singles from Cooper O'Brien and Evan Dennis. Hanlon got out of the inning with a pop fly to third.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Hornets started a two-out rally when freshman shortstop Eyon Tembreull (Vergennes, VT) reached on an error and Alt singled. Rogers got out of that jam with fly out to right field. Colby-Sawyer had one more chance to tie the game or take the lead to give them the win. Hanlon got his first out with a ground out third base. Snyder hit a single to try to start a rally for the Chargers. Janai Cruz came to pinch hit for Devin Montalvo and he reached on a fielder's choice. The Hornets got Snyder out at second. Finn MacLennan went to pinch hit for Mike Krouse. Lyndon got their final out with a ground out to second base to end the game.
Hanlon got the win for the Hornets and improve his record 1-2 on the season. He pitched seven innings, struck out four batters, allowed five hits, and walked three hitters. Alt went 3-4 with one run batted in and also scored one run. Bigelow also batted one run in.
Rogers got the loss and his record now is 1-6. He also pitched seven innings, struck out eight batters, and also allowed five hits and three walks. O'Brien and Snyder both went 2-3 on the day.
Game 2 - VTSU Lyndon 8, Colby-Sawyer 7
The Chargers took a 7-2 lead through five innings before the Hornets rallied with two runs in the sixth inning and four more in the seventh. Bryan Nazario (Little Elm, TX) had a big game for Lyndon, notching three hits and driving in two runs, including the tying run. Alt and Gonyeau added two hits apiece. Austin Bigelow (East Hamoton, CT), the fourth Lyndon pitcher, earned the win with three shutout innings of hitless relief.
Evan Dennis paced Colby-Sawyer with a double and two singles, two runs batted in, and a run scored. Colin Snyder also delivered three hits, drove in one, and scored once. Connor St. Gelais, the third of four Charger pitchers, took the loss.
Lyndon returns to the diamond on Thursday afternoon when they host Norwich University in another non-conference game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
