The baseball team continued conference play this weekend, splitting a doubleheader against Penn Saturday by scores of 4-2 and 8-6 before falling to Columbia Sunday 3-1 and 9-5. With the 1-3 weekend, the Bears move to 9-13 (3-5 Ivy) on the season.
Brown 2, Penn 4
Saturday, the Bears were unable to maintain an early lead in the opening contest against the Quakers (14-13, 4-4). Outfielder Sam Grigo ’18 and catcher Josh Huntley ’17 led the Bears with one RBI each, while outfielder Rob Henry ’17 recorded a pair of hits in the loss.
After Brown took an early 1-0 lead, Matt O’Neill and Daniel Halevy responded with back-to-back home runs in the top of the second for the Quakers.
Matt McGeagh added a solo home run in the top of the fourth, before Huntley drove Grigo home with an RBI double to narrow the deficit in the bottom of the sixth. But Halevy answered with Penn’s fourth home run of the contest in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Starter Christian Taugner ’17 took his second loss of the season, allowing four runs with five strikeouts in seven innings.
Brown 8, Penn 6
The afternoon’s contest saw Bruno recover from an early five-run deficit, scoring eight consecutive runs — including four in the bottom of the seventh — to claim the victory. Huntley and outfielder Garett Delano ’20 paced the Bears with two hits apiece, while designated hitter Cameron Deere ’20 scored three runs.
The Quakers opened scoring with five runs over the first two innings, but Bruno answered with two runs in the bottom of the third and runs in the fifth and sixth to shorten the deficit.
Henry led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run, tying the score at five. Huntley scored off a bases-loaded single from Delano to reclaim the lead, before third baseman Willy Homza ’19 and first baseman Marc Sredojevic ’17 crossed the plate on a single up the middle from Deere.
Peter Matt answered with a solo home run in the top of the eighth, but the Bears denied the Quakers in the ninth to secure the victory.
“It was kind of a death by paper cut — just score one, score two, score one and then put up a big inning,” said Head Coach Grant Achilles. “That was the difference in the ballgame.”
Starter Reid Anderson ’18 threw five innings, allowing five runs with eight strikeouts. Will Tomlinson ’20, Samuel Hauser ’17, JJ Sliepka ’19 and Dante Bosnic ’18 combined to allow one run in the final four innings.
“To come out … with a split the way we played — I was really proud of our guys,” Achilles said. “We have great leadership within the team, and the guys understand that the game’s not over until the last hour.”
“I was really proud of us,” Grigo said. “We came back and we really rallied.”
Brown 1, Columbia 3
The following day saw Bruno fall to the Lions (7-15, 3-2) in a close matchup. Grigo led the Bears with three hits, while Sredojevic notched a pair of hits and one RBI.
With the game tied at one, Julian Bury and Joe Engel crossed the plate on a bases-loaded single from Randell Kanamaru in the top of the seventh, putting the game out of reach for the Bears.
Starter Max Ritchie ’17 limited the Lions to one run with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Bosnic finished the final inning in relief, allowing two runs.
Brown 5, Columbia 9
In the afternoon contest, the Bears were unable to generate enough offensive pressure to match the Lions. Grigo lead the Bears with four hits, while Sredojevic notched two RBIs.
The game went back and forth early, as an RBI double from Deere in the bottom of the fourth evened the tally at three.
But Columbia responded with four consecutive runs — including a 2-RBI home run from McGill — to reclaim the lead.
Delano sent Homza home on a single in the bottom of the sixth, but Joe Engel and Kanemaru each added RBIs in the final two innings to secure the victory. Brown scored a run in the bottom of the ninth and had the bases loaded, but could not mount a late comeback effort.
“Dropping both today is disappointing,” Grigo said. “We just dug ourselves too big a hole to come out from in one inning.”
“You can’t be down that many runs in the last inning and expect to score five or six,” Grigo added.
Starter Bobby Leyman ’19 allowed five runs with two strikeouts in four innings. Calvin Farris ’20, Will Tomlinson ’20 and Hauser combined to finish the contest in relief, allowing four runs in five innings.
The Bears will return to action Tuesday with a visit to the University of Rhode Island, before continuing conference play next weekend with a four-game series at Dartmouth.
