Teams: Baseball: Schedule & Results

JUMBOS FINISH SPRING TRIP WITH 16-11 LOSS AT VIRGINIA WESLEYAN

COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
Virginia Wesleyan 16, Tufts 11

At Virginia Beach, VA
Monday, March 24, 2008

Game Box Score

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- C.J. Rhodes connected for a home run, a double and a single in four times at bat to help power Virginia Wesleyan College's baseball Marlins to a 16-11 victory over Tufts University in a non-conference battle that stretched out over more than four hours Monday at Marlins Field.

The game was a slugfest that produced the 27 runs with the help of 29 hits, 17 walks, and eight total errors. Fourteen pitchers took turns firing the ball, seven by each team. Virginia Wesleyan prevailed through it all, improving to 15-8-1 overall and snapping a four-game winning streak for Tufts' Jumbos, who will return home after a 6-5 spring break trip.

Rhodes helped sparked the Marlins' offense, driving in six runs and scoring twice. He belted his third homer of the season in the second inning, scoring senior Ozz Dhramapitaksook, who led off the inning by taking a base on a Tufts error. That shot gave VWC a 2-0 lead, but Tufts came back hard to push in front 6-2 entering the bottom of the fifth. Junior RF Eric Catalanotti (Grafton, MA) doubled home a run and scored in the fifth. The Marlins closed the gap with three runs in the bottom of the inning, which included a triple from junior Phil Cadle.

After sophomore Nick Wilson and rookie Colin McNulty combined to keep the Jumbos scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Marlins pounced on the opportunity to take the lead and did so with a five-hit, five-run answer in the bottom of the inning. Rhodes ripped a two-run single in the inning and came back in the bottom of the seventh to pound out a two-run double into center field, helping the Marlins pull away from Tufts, which had pulled within a 10-9 score with a three-run production in the top of the seventh. Senior 1B Steve Ragonese (Upper Saddle River, NJ) continued his torrid start with a two-run double for the Jumbos in that inning. It was all for naught however, as VWC responded with a six-hit offense in the bottom of the seventh, which included another two-run double into center field, this one off the bat of sophomore Mike Marion.

Tufts trailed 16-9 after eight innings, but tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth to produce the final score.

Wilson took the pitching victory for VWC, his first this season. He worked 2.2 innings, pitching to 16 batters, striking out three, and allowing only four hits and a walk. Wilson was the fifth pitcher in the line-up for the Marlins, which started with sophomore Daniel Samuels. Seniors David Imperato and Shawn Polke and McNulty followed, before Wilson took the mound. Seniors Chris Deanes and Brett Horowitz pitched to the final eight batters of the game.

Tufts also used seven pitchers, with Jason Protano (Milford, MA) getting the start. Ed Bernstein (Foxborough, MA), the third thrower in the line-up, took the loss after working 2.2 innings. He allowed six hits, three walks, and eight earned runs, while striking out three batters.

Cadle joined Rhodes in hitting 3 for 4 for the Marlins, and senior Brian Schweers and rookie Gary Bulman connected for two hits each. Bulman, Rhodes, and Marion all doubled for the Marlins.

Sophomore DH Corey Pontes (Milford, MA), freshman LF Chase Rose Scottsdale, AZ) and freshman C Dave Leresche (St. Louis, MO) led Tufts with three hits each. Catalanotti belted two doubles for the Jumbos.

Tufts opens its NESCAC East Division season on Friday against Bates College. The game, and a double-header on Saturday, are expected to be moved to Tufts due to poor field conditions at Bates. Virginia Wesleyan returns to action on Thursday, when the Marlins travel to Maryland to face the No. 14-ranked Sea Gulls of Salisbury University in a non-conference game at 2:30 pm.

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