TOWSON, Md. – After building a big early advantage, the Elon University baseball team saw Towson chip away late as the Tigers rallied to defeat the Phoenix 11-10 in the first game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series on Friday afternoon.
Will Nance led Elon (16-19, 6-4 CAA) at the plate, driving in a career-high four runs with a 3-for-4 day. Nance would finish a triple shy of the cycle. James Venuto (3-for-5, two runs) and Ryne Ogren (2-for-5, two runs, two RBI) also tallied multi-hit games for the Phoenix.
Towson (14-17, 3-4 CAA) saw Billy Lennox go 2-for-4 with five RBI, while Andrew Cassard scored three times and drove in two during a 3-for-5 day at the plate.
Taking the loss was Ryan Conroy (4-3) who threw an inning out of the bullpen. Conroy allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits. Elon starter George Kirby went a career-long 6.2 innings and was charged with five runs on nine hits. He struck out four.
David Marriggi (4-1) earned the win with one shutout inning. Elon roughed up Towson starter Dean Stramara for nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits in 6.0 innings.
How It Happened: With Elon leading 10-8 going to the bottom of the ninth, Colin Gimblet led off the inning with a homer to left-center. Towson kept it going with a one-out single from Trey Martinez. With two away, Colin Dyer doubled to the gap in left-center to score the tying run. Dyer would end up on third on the play on the throw home. Just moments later, Dyer would race home with the winning run on a passed ball.
The Phoenix got off to a quick start as Joe Satterfield sent the fourth pitch of the game to left for a double. Ogren followed by belting his third homer of the year over the fence in left to give the maroon and gold a quick 2-0 lead. After a Venuto single and Kyle Jackson double put two aboard, Nance’s infield single brought home the third Elon run of the frame and left runners on the corners. Hayden Platt made it six consecutive hits as he doubled home a run to make it 4-0 in favor of the Phoenix. With one out, Cam Devanney lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate Nance with the fifth run. Elon then pulled off a double steal as Evers swiped second and Platt stole home to give the Phoenix a 6-0 lead after the top of the first.
With Ogren on second after a double in the second inning, Nance connected on a 2-2 pitch and sent it deep over the fence in left-center for his second home run of the season.
The Tigers got on the board with one out in the last of the third when Lennox doubled down the left field line to drive home two runs. Lennox then scored on a Gimblet single to cut Elon’s lead to 8-3.
Nance drove in his fourth run of the day with a fourth-inning double as Venuto scored from first base. Elon would push the lead to 10-3 in the seventh as Platt scored on Towson’s second error of the game.
After a leadoff single in the last of the seventh, Cassard doubled down the right field line to drive in the fourth Towson run. The Tigers would get another in the inning on a Lennox ground out.
Towson closed even closer in the last of the eighth as A.J. Gallo, who led off the inning with a double, scored on Cassard’s two-out single to make it a 10-6 contest. After a hit batter loaded the bases, Lennox drove in his fourth and fifth runs with a single up the middle as Elon’s lead was down to two runs.
Notes: Ogren has now reached base safely in 23 consecutive games… Elon is now 3-3 in one-run games in 2017… The Phoenix lost when leading after eight innings for the first time since March 14, 2015 against East Carolina; Elon had won 50 straight games when leading after eight innings… It also marked Elon’s first loss when leading after seven innings this season (12-1)… Three of the Phoenix’s last four games against Towson have been decided by one run.
On Deck: Game two between the Phoenix and Tigers is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.