Brewer Baseball Edged By Chapman 3-2 In Season Opener

ORANGE, CA – Senior second baseman Bobby Kinne was 3-for-4 and the pitching staff was solid, but timely hitting eluded the Vassar baseball team Sunday evening in the 2018 season opener, as the Brewers were topped 3-2 by Chapman University in action from Hart Park.

The season started on a high note, as sophomore Daniel Bonfiglio singled up the middle in the top of the first to get the year underway. Chapman (10-6) would get on the board first in the bottom of the third, as Justin Stream singled up the middle to score Aaron Wong to make the score 1-0.

Vassar (0-1) threatened in the top of the fifth inning as sophomore Evan Trausch was hit by a pitch to start the frame, followed by a single by Kinne, and both advanced a base on a wild pitch to give VC runners at second and third with no outs. Chapman would get out of the jam though, keeping Vassar off the board.

Chapman added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Jared Love doubled down the left-field line to score Stream and Gavin Blodgett. The Brewers got on the board in the top of the sixth, as senior Eric Strickland reached on an error and was plated with one out by a sacrifice fly from fellow senior Matt Hernandez.

Down 3-1 in the ninth, Vassar didn’t go quietly, rallying with one-out as Trausch walked, followed by another single from Kinne to put runners at the corners. Freshman Elliott Layne pinch-hit and delivered in his first collegiate at-bat, doubling down the right-field line to score freshman pinch-runner Jason Salerno.

After junior Matt Schwartz was walked intentionally to load the bases, Chapman’s Cody Turner closed the game out with back-to-back strikeouts. Vassar finished with eight hits for the game, but VC stranded seven runners on the night.

VC’s pitching was strong all game, as Brewer starter Max Spencer went four innings, allowing one earned run and three hits while striking out four Chapman hitters. Senior John Madsen worked 0.2 innings of scoreless relief, and freshman Patrick Fitzgerald logged three scoreless frames and surrendered just one hit.

Christian Cosby went six innings for the Panthers, earning the win to move to 2-2 on the season, allowing four hits and no earned runs. Stream was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Wong finished with three walks for the home team.