OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Widener University baseball team used the long ball to rally from behind in both games of a doubleheader as the Pride swept Stevenson in a key MAC Commonwealth twinbill on Saturday, winning game one 6-3 in eight innings before taking the later contest 6-4.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Widener hit four homers in the DH, two coming from Ryan Bennett and one each from Nick D'Alessandro and Stephen DeBellis.
• DeBellis had three hits and three RBI in the two games.
• D'Alessandro reached base five times with four walks in addition to his big fly.
• Nathan Valenta and Matt Samson each had three hits on the day.
• James Dougherty, Donald Edwards, and Ricky Collings combined to toss 6.1 scoreless innings of relief.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME ONE

• Widener found itself down 3-0 after three innings and the score remained that way until the sixth when Ryan Bennett led off with his first homer of the season. Two batters later, Matt Samson tripled in front of Nathan Valenta, who singled him home before moving to second on an error. The Blue and Gold tied the game as the next batter, Stephen, smacked a hit to left to plate Valenta.
• Moving into extra innings, Samson led off the eighth with a single before Valenta doubled to plate him for a 4-3 lead.
• DeBellis came up next and deposited his fifth homer of the season over the leftfield wall, pushing Widener on top 6-3.
• James Dougherty ran his record to 2-0 on the season with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED IN GAME TWO

• The Pride jumped on the board in the second inning as Tommy McParland singled and came around two batters later on a hit by Ryan Bennett and subsequent fielding error.
• After Stevenson struck for four runs in the third, Widener got one back in the fourth as Morrissette cracked his second homer of the day, cutting the gap to 4-2.
• WU took the lead in the next inning as Valenta singled to open the frame before Nick D'Alessandro drove his first long ball of the season to left, tying the contest at 4-4. McParland was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a throwing error before scoring on a passed ball, giving the Blue and Gold a 5-4 edge.
• The Pride got an insurance run in the sixth when Bennett delivered his first homer of the year.
• Donald Edwards picked up the win in relief with 2.2 perfect innings, striking out four.
• Ricky Collings tossed the final 1.1 innings out of the pen to notch his first save.

 
UP NEXT
The Pride returns to action on Monday, April 1 when it travels to Gwynedd Mercy for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.