Beau Yaremko's first career grand slam helped the Saints baseball team to a six-run second inning and his RBI single in the third proved to be the winning run as St. Lawrence edged Old Westbury 7-6 in the opening game of doubleheader in Fort Myers, Florida on Sunday for its first win of the season.
Junior
Alex Black went six innings on the mound, allowing four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts to earn the win.
The Panthers mounted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning of game two to earn a one-run win of their own, 4-3, to split Sunday's contests.
While Yaremko paced the Saints at the plate in game one, fellow senior
Isaac Lewis went 4-for-4 with two RBI in game two.
Tyler Guido also had a multi-hit game in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 and scoring two of the Saints' three runs.
Game 1 - St. Lawrence 7, Old Westbury 6
In the bottom of the second inning,
Anthony Butler,
Evan O'Keeffe and
Evan Reichel hit back-to-back-to-back singles to open the frame and load the bases before
James Cronin earned an RBI walk. Yaremko was next to the plate and went yard over the fence in left center to clear the bases the push the Saints' lead to 5-0.
The grand slam was the second home run was the second of Yaremko's career and first since 2016.
With one out in the inning,
Taylor Digilio walked and then stole second during Lewis's at bat to move into scoring position. After Lewis struck out,
Brendon Frank singled to left field to bring Digilio in to score and make it 6-0 in favor of the Saints.
Old Westbury got one back in the top of the third inning with an RBI single by John Condon, but Yaremko's RBI single to left in the bottom of the frame brought Cronin in to score to regain the six-run lead at 7-1.
The Panthers chipped away, adding two runs in the top of the fourth and one in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-4 heading into the final inning.
Will Fellows came in in relief of Black to start the top of the seventh and Liam Slattery worked a walk to lead off for the Panthers. After a single moved him to second, Slattery went to third on a wild pitch, setting up an RBI groundout by Dean Sheridan to cut the St. Lawrence lead to 7-5.
Another single through the right side scored John Fogarty and put the tying run on base, but Fellows got Dom Kriegel to ground out to Digilio at shortstop to end the game and the pick up the save.
With the win, the Saints improve to 1-1 on the season, while Old Westbury moved to 3-3-1.
Game 2 – Old Westbury 4, St. Lawrence 3
After Old Westbury took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Lewis tied the game for St. Lawrence in the top of the third with an RBI double that brought Guido in to score.
The Panthers responded with an RBI double of their own in the bottom of the frame to regain the lead, 2-1.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Guido started a rally for the Saints with a double before pinch hitter
Evan Reichel was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. In the next at bat, Digilio hit an RBI single to left to tie the game at 2-2.
Reichel moved to third on a wild pitch putting runners on the corners for Lewis, who recorded his fourth hit of the game and drove Reichel in with an RBI single to center field to take a 3-2 lead. The Saints, however, left the bases loaded and missed the opportunity to add some insurance runs heading into Old Westbury's last ups in the bottom of the seventh.
A leadoff walk, sac bunt and then a passed ball put a runner on third for the Panthers with one out. David Hawley tied the game with an RBI triple and Jesse Russo followed with an walk-off RBI single to left to win the game for Old Westbury, 4-3.
Starting pitcher
Caleb Clarke allowed just two runs on three hits in six innings of work for the Saints, but it was Fellows who took the loss as he once again came on in relief for the final inning.
With the loss, the Saints drop to 1-2 heading into Monday's games.
Up Next –
The Saints will face Plymouth State University in their second doubleheader of their schedule at the Gene Cusic Classic on Monday afternoon in Fort Myers, with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
