Matt Cain- Contributor
The Owls split a doubleheader against Saint Anselm College, an NE10 Conference rival.
The Owls would take game one, winning 9-3, then fall short in game two, losing 6-2. The second game would be a disappointing one, as the Owls would only get three hits in the game and two runs, all coming in the third inning.
“I’m kinda disappointed, especially winning the first game with knocking in double-digit runs,” Head Coach Tim Shea said. “That starter had three innings pitched all year, and we got three hits off him.”
The Owls gave up three hits in the first inning, letting Saint Anselm jump out to an early lead. With everything going wrong for the Owls on the defensive side of the ball, the first game saw the Owls rack up hits behind the plate, but they could not get the bats going in the second game.
“We faced these guys three times already, so they know what arms we have coming out the bullpen,” first baseman Jack Drewry, a senior, said.
Starting pitcher Jagger Duquette, a graduate student, was the starting pitcher in game two, pitching a solid three innings. Despite throwing some of his best stuff in that inning, he gave up seven hits along with four strikeouts.
The Owls would then look to the bullpen. The next man on the mound would be pitcher Spencer Fox, a senior. Fox has a strong arm and can strike batters out. Coming into that game, he had a 4.56 ERA with one win and two losses.
In both games, the pitching went well. Pitching set the tone in the first game, but they could not get it started in the second game.
“Our pitching has been well in the past week. They have been doing their job. We gotta come out and get more runs for our guys on the mound,” designated hitter Chad Fedeli, a junior, said.
After Fox entered the game, Head Coach Tim Shea looked to veteran player, pitcher Mike Szturma, a junior. Between Szturma and Fox coming out of the bullpen, they managed to keep the game in reach, but it was not enough to seal the win.
With the pitching doing well, the Owls now look to get the offense going behind the plate. The Owls knocked in five hits in the game-two loss but could not get into a rhythm, as Saint Anselm took over on the defensive end.
The Owls and Saint Anselm have seen each other before, so this doubleheader would have lots of tension between the two teams. There was chatter in the Saint Anselm dugout and some retaliation from the Owls dugout as well.
Coming into this game, the Owls’ record against Saint Anselm is overall successful, 3-4 . This set up the very intense interactions and competitive game on the field.
“We knew how they played, their aggressiveness. We can’t take plays off,” Shea said.
The Owls will now move forward and look towards the next game. The Owls set their sights on how to get better each game. With this still being an early season, they think they can be contenders in the conference and even region.
