WINCHESTER, Va. – To open the 2024 season, Widener baseball went up against the Shenandoah University Hornets, who were ranked #7 in the D3baseball.com preseason poll. However, the Pride fell 19-6 in game one and 16-5 in game two.
The Pride are 0-2 in the regular season. Their first MAC game is on Friday, March 15 vs. Eastern.
BY THE NUMBERS: GAME 1
BY THE NUMBERS: GAME 2
- Bukowski once again led with two hits. Sean Burke had two RBIs.
- Sean Curran was on the hill first, getting four strikeouts in 19 batters faced.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST SHENANDOAH
Game 1
- The Pride started their season opener with a Bukowski double. Two batters later, a Brendan Raven sacrifice fly RBI brought in Bukowski for a 1-0 lead. However, the Hornets' bats were hot in the first inning, scoring five runs with consecutive home runs. A quick second inning led to another Shenandoah ambush in the third, where the home team scored 10 runs. The Pride made two pitching changes in the third, and they got out of the inning on a lineout. The score was Shenandoah 15-1 through three innings.
- Widener played good defense in the bottom of the fourth before getting back in the scoring column in the fifth. Weaver hit a two-run homer to cut into the deficit. Shenandoah answered with another set of consecutive home runs in the bottom of the fifth. The two sides exchanged a run in the sixth. Widener's run would be on a Jack Balcer walk with bases loaded, while Shenandoah added a home run. Despite a two-RBI single in the top of the seventh from the Pride, it was not enough to close the gap. Shenandoah won 19-6.
Game 2
- To begin the second game, the Pride got on the board first with a Burke two-RBI single. An error by the Hornets led to a Weaver unearned run on the next play. Throughout the second and third innings, each team got a man on base, but they each could not capitalize on it. Although Widener was unable to bring in a run on a bases-loaded scenario in the fourth inning, they earned a run in the fifth inning on another Shenandoah error. The Hornets would counter with five runs in the bottom of the fifth on two RBIs and a three-RBI double. Shenandoah led 5-4 through five.
- A quick sixth inning transitioned into 11 Hornets' runs across the seventh and eighth innings. Widener would score one run in the eighth on a sac-fly RBI by Raven. The Pride would get one more chance in the top of the ninth, but they went down in three strikeouts. Shenandoah took the second game 16-5. The Hornets outscored the Pride 35-11 for the day.
UP NEXT
The Pride travel to Salisbury, Md. for another doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 17. They will face the #10 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons and the #2 Salisbury University Sea Gulls.
