Timothy Connor had four hits across two games, including a home run and John Gannon was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and four runs batted in, and the St. Lawrence baseball team split a neutral-site doubleheader against the Westfield State Owls Saturday in Ramsey, N.J. to open the 2025 campaign.
The Saints erased a 6-0 early deficit in game one but ultimately fell 11-9. They responded in game two, getting out ahead early in their 13-3 blowout victory. They start the season 1-1 for the third straight year.
Matt Davis had a team-high five runs batted in while Sean Desjardins had two hits in game two, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple while also drawing five walks across the pair of games.
Boden Driscoll pitched 3.1 innings of shutout ball in the second game and first-year Joe LaPrade pitched one scoreless inning in his first piece of collegiate action. Liam Hickey got the win as the starter in game two.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 9, Westfield State 11
Senior Michael Hutchins got the nod in game one, starting strong with four strikeouts and surrendering only one hit in his first two innings of work.
After a couple of scoreless innings, the Owls broke the ice in the third after back-to-back home runs to take a 2-0 lead. Westfield State padded their lead in the fourth after a hit-by-pitch and a double. However, Hutchins got his sixth strikeout to strand a runner at third base to conclude the fourth inning with the Saints trailing 3-0.
Meanwhile, the Saints had a hard time figuring out Owls starter Sean McNamara. St. Lawrence had just one hit in the first five innings, a leadoff single by Max Cloutier in the third, and also never managed to get a runner into scoring position throughout the first five innings.
After the three more Owls crossed the plate in the bottom of the fifth, the Saints at last came through in the sixth. Connor started things with a 1-out single, then Brett Federico singled, and Gannon walked to load the bases. This was followed by a sacrifice fly from Willie Landman to plate the first run of the inning. Desjardins followed this up with a walk to load the bases again and then Davis had a 2-out, 2-run single to give the Scarlet and Brown three runs in the inning, chasing McNamara in the process as the Saints headed into the bottom of the sixth trailing 6-3.
Brendan Karadenas pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth, after coming in relief of Hutchins during the fifth inning, stranding two runners in the fifth and facing the minimum in the sixth.
In the seventh, Jon Donnellan singled, Mike Siano walked, and then Connor blasted a home run to tie the game, giving the Saints six unanswered runs.
In the bottom of the frame though, the Owls got their lead right back after a hit by pitch, triple, and a balk, and Westfield State headed into the eighth with an 8-6 lead. St. Lawrence got one run back in the top of the eighth after Siano had a run-scoring single to drive home Donnellan as the Saints trailed 8-7.
This brought the game to the top of the ninth, with the Saints needing at least one run to extend the game. Connor started things with a single for his third hit of the game, Gannon doubled to tie the game at 8, and then later scored on a fielder's choice by Jack Finnegan as the Saints earned their first lead of the game in the ninth inning.
Brenner took the mound in the bottom of the ninth, starting his third inning of work, and despite getting two outs right away, things started to go south after that. The Owls got a single, a triple to tie the contest at 9 a-piece, and then a walk-off home run to conclude the game in the end of the ninth, with the Owls winning the front end of the twin bill 11-9.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 13, Westfield State 3
The Saints' offense got going from the very start in game two by plating four runs in the first. Federico, Gannon, and Landman drew three straight walks with Federico scoring on a wild pitch just after for the first run of the game. After Finnegan was drilled with a pitch to load the bases again, Desjardins tripled to clear the bases and the Saints were out in front 4-0 before Westfield St could step to the plate.
Hickey got the nod as the game two starter although the Owls got to him early in the first after a double and a triple to get themselves on the board. Hickey remained poised though and got a popup, a line out, and a strikeout to strand the runner on third and limit the damage to just one run.
In the third inning, St. Lawrence tacked onto their lead as Davis had a run-scoring fielder's choice after the Owls walked the bases loaded for the second time in the game, making the game 5-1 in favor of the Saints. Although, this four-run lead was cut in half in the third inning off a 2-run homer from the Owls in the third.
The game was broken wide open in the top of the fifth after the Saints plated six runs. Nine total batters went to the plate in the inning, Davis had a 2-run single for his fifth RBI of the afternoon, Federico drove in a run, and Gannon capped things off by clubbing a 3-run home run, and the Scarlet and Brown gave their pitching staff plenty of run support to work with now up 11-3.
Boden Driscoll came on in relief of Hickey and pitched 3.1 innings of shutout baseball, punching out three, allowing just one hit and one walk, and also escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with a double-play ground out.
The Saints added one more run in the sixth and another in the seventh to create a score of 13-3 and after a shutout inning by LaPrade, the Saints ended the game prematurely after the seventh with their 10-run lead.
Next up:
The Saints will next be in action on the road in southern New York as they will have a road doubleheader against the SUNY Purchase Panthers on Saturday, March 8. Last season, the Saints split their twin-bill at the against the Panthers.
