COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A first-inning outburst plus a pair of sensational pitching performances added up to the first win of the year for the Ursinus College baseball team.
Alex Mumme hit a two-run homer during a five-run opening onslaught, and Nolan Graber worked into the sixth inning before Nick DeFeo picked up a marathon save to lock up a 5-3 victory over perennial power TCNJ on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon on Thomas Field.
The Bears (1-1) bounced back from a lackluster offensive performance in Monday's opener with a trademark crooked number in their first opportunity against Lions rookie Ben Amon. Dom Fiorentino was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the first, and Connor Barret followed with a base hit, although Fiorentino was thrown out attempting to advance to third.
Up stepped Mumme, who launched his first homer of the season – the 27th of his career – high and deep over the fence in left-center field to make it 2-0 just three batters in.
After Amon got the second out, seven consecutive batters reached base. Tom Jacobs drew a walk and scored on a base hit up the middle by Will Peiffer following a passed ball, and Dan Icaza followed up a single by Jerry Scavone with a run-scoring blooper to center. Eric Gross was hit by a pitch and Fiorentino drew a bases-loaded walk to cap the crooked number.
Ursinus did not score again, but didn't need to with a dominant Graber on the hill. The 2018 Centennial Conference rookie of the year looked in prime form, retiring the first nine men he faced. TCNJ got on the board in the fourth as Jacob Simon finished a string of four consecutive hits with an RBI single to left-center.
Graber allowed a second run in the top of the sixth, and the Lions were threatening to get even closer with the bases loaded and two outs. In came DeFeo, who threw two quick balls before settling down to induce an inning-ending pop-up.
DeFeo went the rest of the way, permitting one run in the eighth but otherwise controlling the proceedings against a Lions squad that has won at least 29 games in four consecutive seasons. He allowed two hits and one run over 3.1 innings, striking out two without a walk.
Graber, for his part, was charged with two earned runs over 5.2 innings. He allowed six hits, striking out one against one walk.
Scavone was 2-for-3 with a run scored, the only Bear with multiple hits on the day. Peiffer drove in a run and scored one, while Icaza notched his first RBI of the year. Tim Pyne had a line-drive single in a pinch-hit at-bat.
The Bears now head to Florida for a 12-game swing over spring break, beginning with a twin bill against Pitt-Greensburg on Friday.