Baseball Begins 2021 with a Doubleheader Sweep of Mount Saint Mary's

Friday, February 26

10 a.m.

University of Richmond

1-0

Mount St. Mary's (Md.)

0-1

Mount Saint Mary's

Richmond

Photo by: Stephen Blue

Baseball Begins 2021 with a Doubleheader Sweep of Mount Saint Mary's

02/26/2021 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (PDF) Game 1 Box Score (PDF) Game 2

RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond baseball began 2021 in fine fashion Friday at Pitt Field. The Spiders swept the Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers in a doubleheader, 6-2 and 2-1. Richmond pitching came out strong, holding the Mountaineers to just three runs in the two 7-inning games. Richmond begins the season 2-0 for the second time in three years.

Jacob Marcus (Malvern, Pa.) got the start on the hill in the first game of the year. The redshirt sophomore threw 5.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits to go with five strikeouts. Jarrad DeLarso (Cherokee, N.J.) worked a scoreless inning, allowing a hit and a strikeout. Eli Kimbell (New York, N.Y.) saw his first action in Spider blue, tossing a scoreless seventh and striking out all three hitters he faced.

Game two saw Colby Wyatt (Glendale, Ariz.) get the ball. The graduate transfer threw 5.0 strong innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven. Alden Mathes (Broomall, Pa.) threw the final 2.0 innings, giving up a pair of hits, and striking out three to earn the first save of the season.

In game one, the bottom of the order ignited the rallies to earn the win. The 7-8-9 trio of Rich Ciufo (Medford, N.Y.), Chris Rinaldi (Westfield, N.J.) and Jordan Schulefand (Parkland, Fla.) went a combined 5-for-9 and scored four times. Dominic Toso (Philadelphia, Pa.) added a pair of hits with two RBI, and Austin Masel (Stoneham, Mass.) drove in a pair in the win.

It was the top of the order bringing in runs in the nightcap. Lead off man Dan Leckie (Suffield, Conn.) and Toso in the two-spot of the lineup each finished with two hits and an RBI. Rinaldi scored a run after reaching base with a walk.

Richmond struck first in game one on their way to taking the game. In the bottom of the second frame, Ciufo and Rinaldi snuck ground balls through the opposite sides of the infield. Schulefand laid down a bunt single up the third baseline to load them up. Toso singled to left field to bring in two for the first runs of the season.

Mount Saint Mary's followed with two runs of their own the next half inning, but the Spiders responded. Forte led the frame off with a single and moved into scoring position following a Ciufo double. Schulefand looped a single to shallow center field, scoring both. A walk and a single loaded the bases up for Masel, who dropped a single into left field to score two and put the Spiders up 6-2.

That score would hold as Richmond got excellent bullpen work late in the game as DeLarso and Kimbell combined to allow just one base runner and struck out four.

Mount Saint Mary's jumped on the board first in the second game. After a one-out double, the Mountaineer cleanup hitter connected on a single to bring in the run in the first inning. Wyatt and Mathes went to work after that, shutting out Mount Saint Mary's over the remaining six innings.

The Spider offense had just enough output to earn the win. Richmond tied it up in the second inning. Rinaldi worked a walk and moved to third on a single and a flyout. Leckie knocked a single just past the third baseman's glove to bring him in and tie the game at one. Leckie was the focal point of the go-ahead run in the fourth inning. With two outs, he doubled down the left field line and came in to score when Toso hammered a double off the base of the wall in left.

The Spiders and Mountaineers are back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Pitt Field.

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