ANNVILLE, Pa. - The Widener baseball team battled hard against top-seeded Lebanon Valley, but the Dutchmen came away with a 2-1 win in Game 2 of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament semifinal series on Sunday afternoon at McGill Field to advance to the conference championship game.
With the loss, the fourth-seeded Pride finished the season with a 21-20 record.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LEBANON VALLEY
- The Pride jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after junior Anthony Boccio hit an RBI single to right field. Kyle Brex scored the run on the play.
- However, the Dutchmen pushed across their two runs in the eighth to take the lead and eventually win the game.
- Boccio, Brex, Nick Barenz, Justin Costanzo, Matt Samson, Aaron Nuble, and Andrew Yates each had a hit in the defeat.
- Despite the loss on the mound, first-year starter Zachary Coluccio had a stellar effort on the mound, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight in 7 2/3 innings.
PERSPECTIVE
- The Class of 2022 — Samson, Liam Nihill, Tommy McParland, Andrew Jaffarian, Kyle Laing, Bryce Fremgen, and Joey Norton — came away with 61 wins, three MAC Commonwealth Tournament appearances and one MAC Commonwealth championship game appearance in their time in Chester.
- Costanzo had a season to remember for the Pride, as he led the MAC Commonwealth in on-base percentage (.534), slugging percentage (.792), OPS (1.326), and hit by pitch (18). The junior designated hitter/outfielder also finished in the top five in the conference in home runs (second with 14), RBIs (second with 45), batting average (fourth with .385), and runs scored (fifth with 48). Costanzo's 14 homers were the second-most by a Widener player in a single season.
- The Pride also saw Boccio lead the MAC Commonwealth in batting average at .409 and Brex lead the conference in runs scored with 54.
- The Pride also saw Samson, Boccio, and Brex finish in the top five in the MAC Commonwealth in multiple hitting categories. Samson finished second in batting average (.407), third in on-base percentage (.504), third in OPS (1.152), and fourth in slugging percentage (.648). Along with his batting title, Boccio tied for fifth in hits (56), Along with leading the conference in runs scored, Brex finished second in on-base percentage (.508), third in walks (31), third in stolen bases (19), and tied for fifth in hits (56),
