After getting swept in consecutive road trips down south, the baseball team welcomed a change of locale — Washington, D.C., where Brown (6-14, 2-2 Ivy) went 3-2 in five tilts with Georgetown and George Mason before splitting doubleheaders at Princeton and Cornell on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The first game of a doubleheader against Georgetown (11-12) continued a miserable season trend, as the Bears fell 12-0. Robert Henry ’17 had two of Bruno’s five hits on the day and was the only Brown batter to reach base three times. Starting pitcher Eddie Fitzpatrick ’15 went only two innings, giving up seven runs on five hits.
The second game of the doubleheader featured something that had been rare to date: good pitching. Reid Anderson ’18 went six innings, giving up the only run that Brown would allow all game. A three-run fourth inning that included two RBI singles from Dan Kerr ’15 and Will Marcal ’15 sealed the win, while Noah Schulman’s ’16 home run in the fifth added some insurance, contributing to the Bears’ 4-1 victory.
After the doubleheader split, the three-game series was decided by an extra inning thriller in which Brown prevailed 8-7. It was a busy day for Brown’s bullpen: Six pitchers threw in the game — none more than Taylor Wright’s ’15 three and one-third innings — and no pitcher let up an earned run.
“It’s been huge to have guys stepping into their roles,” said Head Coach Grant Achilles. “Whether it’s a quality start for the starter or somebody stepping into relief, I think our staff is really hitting our stride right now.”
St. Lawrence let up four unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to keep the game going but ended up with the win after Henry walked and Schulman doubled him home in the top of the tenth. It was a huge day for Schulman, as he hit two home runs and tallied four RBIs, including the game-winner. The junior hit all three of his home runs this season against Georgetown in two games, going 4-for-13 against the Hoyas with three runs scored and five RBIs.
Henry and Schulman “have been having great years for us,” Achilles said. “They always seem to want to be at bat when the game’s on the line. Noah keeps coming up with extra base hits in key moments while Robby is continuing to find ways to get on base and score runs for us.”
The series triumph was the Bears’ first series win of the season, which was a crucial stepping stowne heading into Ivy League play.
“It was huge for us, especially the way it happened,” Achilles said. “We rebounded well after a decisive Georgetown victory and held on to two wins. Georgetown is a pretty good ball club, so the win was huge for our program.”
Before Brown left D.C., it faced off against George Mason (10-14, 2-4) for a two-game series to wrap up its nonconference schedule. Bosnic got the first win of his young career in relief, pitching three innings while striking out two and giving up one earned run. Kerr stepped up to the two spot in the lineup and went 3-for-5 while Schulman moved back to third in the lineup and had an RBI. St. Lawrence let up one run in the bottom of the ninth but closed the door to register his second save of the season in the 6-5 win. The win was the Bears’ third straight, their longest such streak since April 2012.
Unfortunately for Bruno, George Mason ended the streak in the second game of the series as the Bears fell 6-3. Marcal, who typically plays right field, started the game on the mound, giving up four runs in two and one-third innings. A two-run third inning was the only lead for Bruno in the game, but the Patriots capitalized on a three-run third of their own and never trailed after that.
The Bears started Ivy League play splitting a doubleheader against Princeton (4-15, 1-1) on Sunday. A four-run seventh inning salvaged a win in the first game for Bruno, which had not scored before that point. Fitzpatrick picked up his first win of the season while St. Lawrence registered his third save. A Danny Hoy home run cut Bruno’s lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, but St. Lawrence settled down and closed out the Bears’ first Ivy win.
Anderson started the second game of the doubleheader, going four innings and giving up five runs for his second loss of the season. Josh Huntley ’17 hit a home run in the 8-2 losing effort for the Bears.
“It was a good way to start Ivy play,” Achilles said. “Obviously we would have loved to get both but any time you can get a split on the road, you can be happy with that.”
In its second Ivy League series of the season, Brown survived a late rally from Cornell to prevail in the first game 5-4. A four-run second inning propelled the Bears, which opened up a 5-0 lead before Wright gave up three earned runs in the bottom of the fourth. Bosnic took the mound and got the Bears out of a few jams before registering his second win of the season. St. Lawrence picked up his league-leading fourth save with the win.
A seven-run bottom of the eighth downed the Bears in the second matchup of their doubleheader with Cornell as Brown could not muster a comeback in the ninth. Max Ritchie started the game but the middle relievers could not hold an early lead, resulting in a 10-6 loss at the hands of the Big Red.
