LAKE MYRTLE, Fla.—Gordon Baseball hung tough with the 20th ranked team in the country to the bitter end, but The College of New Jersey fended off a late Scot rally to win 8-5 at Lake Myrtle Park. The Lions built up a six-run advantage by the middle of the game, but Gordon responded with three in the ninth to make things interesting.
The Fighting Scots dip below .500 at 2-3 entering another off day. The Lions improve their mark to 3-1, with their only loss coming against No. 7 UW-La Crosse.
Gordon had an uphill climb for much of the afternoon while facing its first nationally ranked opponent of the season. The Lions tacked on a run in the first inning thanks to some sloppy play between the Scots' battery. A wild pitch allowed a runner to get to third before he turned toward home due to a throwing error on the catcher.
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Lions loaded the bases on a hit batter, walk and an error. TCNJ scored a run on a fielder's choice to short and then scored another run on a passed ball to make it 3-0.
Gordon was put in a larger hole in the next frame as Thomas Persichetti (Hamilton, N.J.) led off the inning with a triple to immediately put the pressure on the Scots. He scored on a wild pitch during the next at bat—the third such run the Lions scored to that point. Austin Lindsay (New Egypt, N.J) added to the advantage with a two-out RBI single.
The Fighting Scots were finally able to put some runs on the board in the top of the sixth inning as the first four batters reached base safely. Alec Willey (San Diego, Calif.) walked before Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) was hit by a pitch. Chris Leavitt (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) then loaded the bases with a single into shallow right to bring up Matt Lucas (Temecula, Calif.). Lucas hit a ball down the third-base line and the third baseman couldn't field it cleanly to score Gordon's first run. The Scots added another run in a sac bunt by Dan Quint (Wells, Maine) to cut the lead to 5-2.
TCNJ was able to keep two runners in scoring position without any further damage by getting the final two outs of the inning consecutively.
The Lions got those two runs right back in the bottom half of the sixth with a double by Persichetti and a sacrifice fly for Patrick Anderson (Long Valley, N.J.). They made it 8-2 in the eighth on a bizarre hit and run play. Gordon was able to strikeout the batter, but TCNJ successfully stole third and then came home to score on a throwing error by the catcher. It marked the fourth run of the game scored by an error for the Lions.
Gordon attempted one final rally in the top of the sixth, putting the first two runners on base with a single and a walk. Morgan Hyde (Thomson, Ga.) roped a ball down the left-field line to plate Christian Hodge (Waltham, Mass.) before Demers singled into the gap in left-center to score two more with two outs on the board.
The Lions dashed any hopes of a comeback in the next at bat, getting a groundout to end the game.
Demers and Willey each extended their season hitting streaks to five games. Demers has a seven-game hit streak going dating back to the end of last season.
Senior Jameson Boyd (Phoenix, Ariz.) has kept up his string of solid relief performances, having given Gordon 2.2 innings with no runs and only hit allowed in three appearances.
The Fighting Scots are back on the field for a nine-inning contest against Suffolk on Wednesday.
