Christina Christodoulou
On March 25, the Drew University men’s baseball team clinched the Catholic series after splitting a doubleheader the day before. The Rangers’ conference record now stands at 2-1, and their overall record is 10-5.
On Saturday, Drew opened Landmark conference play after having seven straight games cancelled due to weather. The Rangers fell to Catholic 3-0 in the opener before rallying to take a 6-4 win in the second game of the day. In the first game, Drew’s offense was held to just three hits, two singles from Mike Pettigrew (‘19) and a double from Zach Lipshitz (‘19). Paul Roth (‘18) yielded three runs of four hits and struck out three in five innings. Brandon Radd (‘20) recorded a walk and a strike out. Game two was scoreless until the fifth inning when Joseph Grossane (‘19) lifted a sacrifice fly to knock in Lipshitz. The Cardinals responded to take a 4-1 lead at the bottom half of the inning. In the eighth, Drew struck five runs. Ryan Sabbag (‘21) jump started the run with a double down the right field line, then moved to third on an Isaiah Mateo (‘18) single. After a run scored on a balk, Eric DiPietro (‘19) and Pettigrew walked to load the bases. Lipschitz ripped a two-run double to tie the game. With two down, Brent Lincoln (‘20) hit a single that plated two runs to clutch the Ranger victory. Pitcher Davis Fouts (‘19) issued a walk in each of the final two innings, and Pete Violante (‘21) yielded four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Mike Mancuso (‘21) finished the game by giving up one hit and recording a strikeout. Lipshitz and Max Felsenstein (’20) led the team, both going 2-for-5.
On Sunday, in their final matchup, Lincoln hit a home run in the top of the 11th inning to put the Rangers on top, 10-8, and secure the title. At the end of the opening inning, Catholic was up 4-1, but Drew responded with two runs in the top of the second. They tied the game on a RBI by Sabbag in the fourth. The Cardinals quickly answered back with a two to regain the lead. DiPietro started off the fifth with a single before stealing second and scoring on Lipshitz’s single. Feinstein then crushed a two-run homer to put the Rangers up 7-6. In the 11th, DiPietro ripped a single, and Lipshitz and Felsenstein both walked to load the bases. Matthew Lange (‘20) extended the Ranger lead when he was hit by a pitch. Radd pitched the last inning to secure Drew’s victory. Jeff Serin (‘20) allowed four runs on four hits, walked two and struck out one, and Foutus earned the win after throwing 1.2 scoreless innings. Felsentien finished 1-for-4 while walking three times and scoring four runs. DiPietro went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, Sabbag ended up 2-for-5 with an RBI and Lipshitz crossed the plate twice.
The Rangers dropped their non-conference game to Keystone College 1-9 on March 29. Next up for the Rangers is a non-conference matchup against St. Joseph’s – Brooklyn on April 4.
