Widener 13, Lebanon Valley 4

LVC Starters
1. Edwards (2B), 2. Puglisi (CF), 3. Kiessling (C), 4. Fundell (1B), 5. Albright (DH), 6. Marcelli (LF), 7. Berry (3B), 8. Z. Smith (SS), 9. Smarkanic (RF), Houseal (P)

Widener Starters=
1. Elfreth (3B), 2. McDonough (RF), 3. Healey (DH), 4. Barnett (CF), 5. Enos (2B), 6. Lowery (1B), 7. DeBellis (SS), 8. Seymour (C), 9. D'Allessandro (LF), McKelvy (P)

How It Happened
Widener scored five runs in the sixth and six runs in the eighth inning pull away late and defeat Lebanon Valley 13-4 in both teams' MAC Commonwealth opener on Friday afternoon at McGill Field. The Dutchmen fell to 5-7, 0-1 MAC Commonwealth, while the Pride jumped to 6-5, 1-0 MAC Commonwealth.

With the score tied at 1-1 heading into the top of the sixth. Widener put up five runs to take a 6-1 advantage. LVC hung in and chipped into the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a Philip Berry double that scored Joshua Marcelli to make it 6-2.

 In the bottom of the seventh, the Dutchmen plated two more runs thanks to a sacrifice fly by Marshall Kiessling and a Colin Albright single down the left field line to cut the deficit to two at 6-4. However, the Pride exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth to go up 12-4 and put the game out reach for LVC.

At the Plate
 - The Dutchmen's offense was led by Marcelli, who was had three hits, all of which were doubles.
 - Kiessling and Mike Puglisi each had two hits, while Brett Fundell had a hit and walked twice.
 - For Widener, Barnett and Enos had four hits a piece, while Elfreth and McDonough notched three each.

On the Mound
 - Michael Houseal (1-1) started for the Dutchmen and cruised through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. He struck out four batters in six innings of work. Troy Hunter and Logan Stover each had relief appearances and neither gave up an earned run.
 - Kyle McKelvy earned the win for Widener, tossing six innings while giving up two earned runs with four punch outs.

Ceremonial First Pitch
Before the start of today's game, Lebanon Valley's teammate Xavier Metrovich threw out the ceremonial first pitch. LVC teamed up with Team IMPACT (Inspire, Motivate, and Play Against Challlenges Together), which is an immersion program with youngsters getting their own signing day, lockers, unifrorms, place on the sideline etc. The Dutchmen and Xavier teamed up in the fall and been together ever since.

Who's Next?
LVC hits the road to Chester tomorrow for a double header with Widener. First pitch of game one is scheduled for noon.