March 27, 2015 Final Stats
Justin Esquerra went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, and
Dan Swain had a pair of singles and drove in two as Siena opened its MAAC title defense with an 8-3 win over Quinnipiac Friday in Hartford, Conn.
Ed Lewicki tossed 5.1 innings to pick up the win, and
Kyano Cummings closed the door with 3.2 scoreless frames to earn the save.
Siena jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring four times in the third. Dave Hoffmann began the inning with one of his two hits, and he scored on Swain's two-run single. Esquerra followed with a sacrifice fly, and Swain scored the fourth run after a Quinnipiac n an error.
Quinnipiac clawed back in the game with two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth. Ben Gibson and Brian Ruditys each had RBI hits in the fourth, and Vincent Guglietti led off the sixth with a double and came around to score the Bobcats' final run on a wild pitch.
Cummings came in and closed the door from there, striking out both men he faced to get out of more trouble in the sixth. He stranded two more men in the seventh and finished with six strikeouts in his 3.2 innings of stellar relief.
The Saints broke the game wide open with four runs in the top of the ninth. Hoffmann doubled to leadoff the inning and freshman Jordan Bishop came through with a clutch two-run single after Swain worked a two-out walk. Esquerra followed with the decisive blow - a two run home run to left field - and Cummings finished the job in the bottom of the ninth.
Siena didn't commit an error in winning its third straight game after dropping 11 of the first 12 it played this season against top-flight competition.
The two teams will complete their three-game set Sunday afternoon at Siena. Quinnipiac is the home team for all three games, but its field is unplayable.
