EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ baseball team was unable to overcome a litany of missed opportunities in an 8-4 loss to visiting Wilkes in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon.
Tyler Provost and
Justin Marcario had two-run singles for the Lions (2-4), who had six hits and drew 11 walks from Colonel pitching but stranded 13 men on base.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wilkes (6-4) grabbed an early lead as Nathan Loch led off the game with a walk, stole second, and came around to score on a throwing error as he swiped third. The Colonels hit two solo homers in the top of the third to stretch their lead to 3-0.
The Lions came back in the bottom half of the third, loading the bases on a single by
Jack O'Donnell and back-to-back walks to
Gianni Marano and
Zach Hochheiser. Provost came through with a clutch two-out knock to right to score a pair, slicing the lead to 3-2.
TCNJ, however, left the bases loaded in the third and fell behind, 6-2, as Wilkes tallied three runs in the fifth – two of them on a second home run by Luke Spencer.
Back came the blue and gold in the bottom of the frame, with Marcario's two-run single plating Marano and Hochheiser and trimming the deficit to 6-4.
The Colonels tacked on single runs in the sixth and seventh, and TCNJ left the bases loaded in the sixth and two on in the eighth as their comeback efforts fizzled.
STANDOUT LIONS
- Marcario was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks
- Brian Lovaglio had a 2-hit afternoon from the 8-hole
- Hochheiser was on base four times, drawing four free passes
- Evan Frank was strong in relief, allowing one hit and one run while striking out two in 2.2 innings, and Mike Silver worked a scoreless ninth
UP NEXT
- TCNJ welcomes John Jay to Ackerman Park on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
