Uniondale, N.Y. – The Molloy baseball team split Friday afternoons twin-bill with the Saints of D'Youville (9-6 and 2-3) at Mitchel Field. Following today's games, the Lions sit at 9-7 overall and 4-2 in East Coast Conference play, while the Saints move to 7-13 overall and 2-4 in league play.
 
Game One: Molloy 9, D'Youville 6

• After a scoreless first inning, senior Jeremy Taggart got the Lions on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second.
• Junior James Sill was perfect through the first three inning, retiring the first nine in a row he faced on the mound.
• In the bottom of the fourth, the Lions jumped out in front, 4-0, after a three-run inning. After a run scored following a fielder's choice, junior Mike Sweeney brought in a run with a sacrifice fly and junior Brian Sanchez capped the inning with a RBI single.
• The sixth inning saw the Saints knot the contest at four in a hurry. The road team tallied a run scoring single from Blaise Kolbert and a three-run home run from Cooper Cefaratti on back-to-back pitches.
• The cardinal and white answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth. It began with Sweeney bringing in two runs with a single through the left side. The final two runs of the frame crossed the plate after a throwing error to reestablish the Lions four-run lead, 8-4.
• D'Youville got two runs back in the top of the seventh after a two-run single to cut the deficit to two, 8-6, before junior Joe Burriesci responded with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame to get the lead back up to three, 9-6.
• The road team would be set down in order in the eighth and ninth to clinch the game one triumph, 9-6.
• Sweeney paced the offense with three hits and three RBI.
• Burriesci drove in a pair of runners while junior Jack Vallario reached base three times via a walk.
• Sanchez and Taggart tallied an RBI each.
• Sill improved to 4-1 on the season, tossing six innings allowing five runs on five hits and striking out five.
• Sophomore Artie Green pitched two innings of relief surrendering one run on two hits.
• Sophomore Jayden Patel collected his third save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning totaling two strikeouts. 

Game Two: Molloy 2, D'Youville 3

• Neither team mustered much offense in the first two innings, combining for just two hits through two frames.
• D'Youville jumped out in front, 2-0, in the third after a pair of run scoring singles from Jake Hollins and Kolbert.
• Molloy was able to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the third. Senior Sean Welsh doubled to open the inning and came around to score following a sacrifice fly from freshman John Franco.
• The Saints threatened in the top of the fourth with the first two batters of the inning reaching base, setting up a first and second scenario with no outs on the board. Junior Thomas Charlwood was called out of the bullpen in hopes to limit the opportunity.
• Charlwood and the Molloy defense would do so in four pitches, recording the first out picking off the runner on second, striking out Kevin Del Vecchio on three pitches, and ending the inning with a caught stealing at third.
• The road team added an important insurance run in the top of the sixth to regain its two-run lead, 3-1, with a run scoring single.
• The cardinal and white would try and mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on first and second after a couple of singles.
• Junior Charlie Imhof shrunk the lead down, 3-2, with a single through the left side to plate Sanchez.
• Later in the inning, Molloy put the tying run on third with two outs, but the Saints would escape, ending the contest with a fly out to secure the 3-2 victory.

Up Next
The Lions will head on the road Saturday, March 21 for a doubleheader matchup at Mercy beginning at 12:00 p.m. in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.