LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. – The Concordia Clippers baseball team kicked off their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) schedule on Sunday afternoon at Chestnut Hill College as Concordia would top the Griffins, 4-1 and 6-5.
Game one saw the Clippers score a lone run in the top of the second inning as a triple for sophomore Joseph Impeduglia (Staten Island, N.Y.) allowed freshman Hermes Abreu (Bayshore, N.Y.) to score on the play. Concordia added their second run of the game in the fourth inning after another RBI from Impeduglia brought in senior Joseph Davide (West Hempstead, N.Y.).
The Griffins would score their lone run of the game in the home half of the eighth inning off a two-out single as the Clippers added their final two runs of the game during their last at-bats in the ninth. Junior Tyler Epple (Levittown, N.Y.) recorded a RBI single while junior John Calabrese (Lodi, N.J.) grounded out to second base, but was able to bring in Epple on the play as Concordia took the 4-1 win.
Senior Dylan Lawrence (Queens, N.Y.) earned his second victory of the season for the Clippers after pitching the complete game. Lawrence would record a career-high 14 strikeouts, three shy of tying the most in NCAA Division II so far this season, as he allowed an unearned run on eight hits.
In the second game Concordia would once again take an early lead on the scoreboard as the Clippers scored a pair of runs in the top of the second inning after RBI's from junior Andre Jackson (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Calabrese. Chestnut Hill answered back with two runs of their own in the home half of the inning as the two teams were tied, 2-2.
A sacrifice fly in the fourth inning by freshman Jake Partridge (Bardonia, N.Y.) would put Concordia back on top, 3-2, but the Griffins would knot the score again in the home half of the fourth. The top of the sixth saw Calabrese record a RBI to take another one run advantage, but Chestnut Hill would answer back with a lone run during their next at-bats to tie the game at 4-4.
With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Jackson would provide his second RBI of the game to give the Clippers a one run lead, 5-4. In the next at-bat, Calabrese reached on a fielder's choice as Epple was able to score from third base to give Concordia the 6-4 advantage. The Griffins cut their deficit in half with a two-out run in the bottom of the eighth, but were unable to get any closer as the Clippers held on for the 6-5 victory.
Junior John Wall (Levittown, N.Y.) picked up his second win of the season after pitching 8.0 innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out two batters. Impeduglia earned his first save of his career after pitching the ninth inning.
Concordia (6-9, 2-0 CACC) will next visit Molloy College on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference game. First pitch in Uniondale, N.Y. is set for 3:30 p.m. as fans unable to attend can follow the action by clicking on the live stats and video links under the baseball schedule page on ConcordiaClippers.com.