Big Start Leads Baseball Past Susquehanna, 9-4, To Break School Wins Record

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Widener won for the 28th time this season to set a new program record, defeating regionally ranked Susquehanna, 9-4, on Monday in Chester, PA.

Widener (28-11, 16-5 CC) clinched the Commonwealth Conference top seed on Saturday with a sweep of Messiah in which it also set a new school record for most league wins. The Pride followed that accomplishment with a decisive decision over No. 8 regionally ranked Susquehanna to conclude the 2014 regular season.

Susquehanna (25-12) struggled early in the non-conference matchup, allowing Widener to score four runs in each of the first two innings. Senior first baseman Michael Riverso (Philadelphia, PA) began the scoring spree for the Pride by hitting a single that drove home freshman Michael Elfreth (Washington Twp., NJ) from second base. Freshman shortstop Nicholas Enos (Williamstown, NJ) followed with a single down the left-field line that scored Riverso to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Pride. Riverso finished the day going 2-of-3 with two runs and two RBI.

Later in the inning with the bases loaded, senior Sam Christie (Upper Darby, PA) singled to right field to bring home both Enos and freshman Greg McDonough (Ambler, PA).

Four more runs were added in the second inning beginning when Riverso yet again singled to drive home Elfreth. Junior left fielder Matt Scherer (Havertown, PA) then singled to drive home another run, followed by a double from freshman Justin Healey (Ocean City, NJ) to make the score 8-0 after two innings.

After a pitching change, Susquehanna got back on track and allowed only one run for the remainder of the game. That run came in the fifth inning when Elfreth singled to drive home junior Paul Shepherd (Secane, PA) from second base. Elfreth finished 2-of-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Sophomore right hander Shawn Barton (Minersville, PA) pitched four innings for the Pride, allowing two earned runs while facing 20 batters. Senior right hander Glenn Stanners (Brookhaven, PA) came into work five innings of relief, allowing two earned runs and striking out six batters. Stanners earned the win and improved to 5-4 on the season with a 3.47 ERA.

Susquehanna scored four runs including two in the fifth inning off the bats of Tom Shields and Jared Musilli, but was unable to challenge the lead Widener put up in the first two innings.

Widener will next travel to York, PA to face Lebanon Valley in the opening round of the conference tournament, beginning Thursday at 4:00 pm.

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