WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson baseball team began its post-Florida campaign with a 7-0 victory to kickoff a three-game weekend series over Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Thomas More in a nonconference matchup on Friday, March 30.
The win improves the Presidents to 9-8 on the season and is their second shutout of the year. Both teams will return to the field tomorrow, March 31, for a PAC doubleheader, with the first pitch of game one slated for 12:00 p.m.
Ben Marsico (Bradfordwoods, Pa./North Allegheny) started on the bump and improved his record to 1-1, picking up his second scoreless start this season (La Roche, 3/11/18), which is also the longest scoreless start of his career. Over 8.0 innings, he allowed only four hits and two walks while striking out three batters.
James Trainor (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township) pitched the final inning and fanned two hitters.
The scoring started in the second inning when shortstop
Spencer Howell (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) tripled to lead off the frame and then scored on a triple from right fielder
Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) on the next pitch. A single by third baseman
Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius) then plated Dalesandro and gave the Presidents a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, W&J scored two more runs when left fielder
Dan Trettel (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and center fielder
Ryan Sciullo (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) reached base on a double and a single, respectively, to start the inning and then were both brought home on a double down the right-field line by catcher
Justin Griffin (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East).
The final three runs were scored in the eighth inning on five hits to cement the final score at 7-0. Socha, Trettel and Sciullo each collected RBI base knocks in the frame.
Sciullo led the team as he went 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. It is the seventh game of his career with three or more hits and the third game with at least four.
Socha, Trettel, and Dalesandro each tallied two hits and drove in four of the team's seven runs. Four more Presidents notched a hit in the game as W&J outhit Thomas More, 14-4.
