The Rams continued their early-season struggles Sunday afternoon, as they fell to the Warriors (5-3) of East Stroudsburg by an 11-2 score.
In the first inning, first baseman Dylan Tarnekci of the Warriors launched an RBI single that brought in outfielder/pitcher Ian Allen for the game’s first run to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
The Rams would prove unable to generate offense until it was far too late.
This was evidenced by the four-run third inning and the six-run fourth inning that built an 11-0 lead for the Warriors.
Catcher Steven Zimmerman crushed a three-run homerun that drove home Allen and first baseman/outfielder Tom Nuneviller, resulting in a commanding 4-0 lead.
After another run batted in by utility player Carson Freeman in the third inning, the Warriors unleashed a barrage of runs in the fourth inning. Scoring six runs, the game was clearly out of reach for the Rams.
In this epic fourth inning for the Warriors, an error by the Rams allowed second baseman Jay Young to score the first of the onslaught of runs. Third baseman Laine Renaud took advantage of the Rams’ prior fielding error by blasting home a single that gave plenty of time for Tarnecki to come in and score, pushing the lead to 8-0 in favor of the Warriors.
Another RBI double by Freeman and RBI single by outfielder Charles Edwards further augmented the lead to 11-0, still in the fourth inning.
Senior starting pitcher John Bentley of the Rams did not have his most impressive outing as a Ram (four innings, 11 runs, two walks, and nine strikeouts), but he had little (if any) help from his fellow Rams though, as only one of the 11 runs he gave up were earned. Several fielding decisions ultimately doomed any chances of the Rams winning on Sunday. These mistakes piled up, creating too big of an obstacle to overcome.
Offensively, the Rams did not do much to make up for their fielding errors, as they scored their only two runs after trailing 11-0, not near enough to make a serious comeback.
The Rams scored an unearned run in the seventh inning when sophomore infielder Brian McCourt came around home after a fielder’s choice allowed sophomore outfielder Reid Entsminger to reach first, but threw out redshirt-freshman outfielder Riley Lazich at second base. With the bases loaded, the Rams were only able to manage one run, even though the game was already decided.
In the eighth inning, the Rams scored off another unearned run, this time courtesy of sophomore infielder Eric Sloper. He got to first base as the Warriors’ third baseman made a fielding error. McCourt reached third on the play, while junior infielder/outfielder Chase Hoffman came in to score the second and last run of the game for the Rams.
Going forward, the Rams will have to improve their fielding and getting off to faster starts offensively.
For their first home game of the season, the Rams will host Millersville for a noon doubleheader, looking to shake off their early season start.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu
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