Baseball Splits Spring Break Finale Against St. Norbert

DAVENPORT, Fla. - The Elms College Baseball team wrapped up their Spring Break trip in Davenport, Fla. to compete against St. Norbert College in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday in the 2025 RussMatt Invitational.

BASICS
Game 1
Score: Elms College 10 | St. Norbert College 2
Records: Blazers 5-5, 0-0 (GNAC) | Green Knights 0-5, 0-0 (NACC)

Game 2
Score: Elms College 14 | St. Norbert College 18
Records: Blazers 5-6, 0-0 (GNAC) | Green Knights 1-5, 0-0 (NACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
Elms would start the with early advantage as graduate student infielder AJ Cook (Mendon, Mass.) would hit a lead off double in the top of the first inning, followed by a single by senior outfielder George Chaya Jr. (Methuen, Mass.). Cook would score the first run after senior outfielder Camron Watkins (East Haddam, Conn.) would hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Senior pitcher Henry Rondon (Ansonia, Conn.) would take the ball to start the game, pitching six innings of the game, with four scoreless innings, and eight strikeouts. In the bottom of the first inning, St. Norbert would tie the game after a double, but Rondon would shut down the last two batters with back-to-back strikeouts. The next two innings would remain scoreless, but would include singles by first year outfielder/infielder Liam Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) and Watkins, a hit by pitch to Cook, and four more strikeouts by Rondon. In the top of the fourth inning, junior pitcher/outfielder Nason Busca (Windsor, Conn.) and junior infielder Chase Prestia (Newington, Conn.) would hit back-to-back singles for the Blazers. Cook would drive in Busca with a single to take the lead, followed by second singles by Chaya Jr. and Watkins to bring home Prestia, along with first year infielder/pitcher Brycen Diaz (Andrews, Texas) getting hit by a pitch to score Cook, to extend the Elms lead to 4-1. In the top of the fifth, the Blazers would extend their lead further after a two-run home run by Busca, following sophomore infielder Jacob Perez (Manchester, Conn.) would reach base on an error, and Diaz would hit a three-run home run, after Cook reached base on a fielder's choice and Chaya Jr. hit another single. The Green Knights would score a run in the bottom half of the inning, but the Elms defense would continue to shut St. Norbert down, along with a final strikeout by Rondon in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh inning, Prestia would hit a lead off double and would be driven by a Chaya Jr. single for the final run of the opening game. In the bottom half of the inning, senior outfielder/pitcher Trevor Nohilly (Bristol, Conn.) would come in to relieve Rondon, and would shut down the Green Knights in order, with a strikeout, to secure the 10-2 victory for the Blazers in Game 1.

Game 2
Graduate student pitcher Kyle Sebastyanski (Auburn, Mass.) would start for Elms in Game 2, pitching two and ⅔ innings with four strikeouts, two of those strikeouts in the first inning, but St. Norbert would be the first to score, tallying one run in that half of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Blazers would carry on the momentum from the previous game, scoring five runs in the first inning, with Diaz hitting a three-run double, scoring Cook, Chaya Jr., and Watkins, followed by sophomore pitcher/utility player Andrew Ciaglo (Hadley, Mass.) advancing to second after being hit by a pitch to bring home Diaz, along with Busca hitting a single and would advanced on another error by the Green Knights to score Ciaglo. In the top of the second inning, Sebastyanski and the Elms defense would shut down the SNC offense in order, with another pair of strikeouts. Then in the bottom half of the inning, the Blazers would score six more runs. Cook would start the inning with a triple and would be brought home after a single by Chaya Jr., followed by a two-run single by Busca to score Chaya Jr. and Watkins. Senior catcher Blake Bastos (Mineola, N.Y.) would then hit a single to drive in Diaz, followed by a two-run double from Prestia to drive in Busca and Bastos, to bring the score to 11-1. St. Norbert would then change the story of the game, scoring 10 runs in the top of the third inning. First year pitcher/outfielder Sal Ortiz (Springfield, Mass.) would come into the game to finish the inning and would throw one strikeout. In the bottom half of the inning, Elms would score one run after a single by sophomore pitcher/infielder Jayden Maynard (Enfield, Conn.) would score Chaya Jr. Then in the top of the fourth inning, junior pitcher Jaden Palumbo (Worcester, Mass.) would come in to pitch for the Blazers, pitching three innings with three strikeouts, but the Green Knights would score a run to tie the game 11-11. Then in the bottom of the fifth inning, Chaya Jr. would hit a two-run home run to give the lead back to Elms, but SNC would score three runs in the top of the sixth and another three runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Blazers 18-14.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Bastos: one for four, with a run scored and a run batted-in.

• Busca: four for seven, with a home run, three runs scored, four runs batted-in, and a stolen base.

• Chaya Jr.: six for nine, with a home run, five runs scored, four runs batted-in, and a walk.

• Ciaglo: 0 for seven, with a run scored.

• Cook: three for seven, with a double, a triple, six runs scored, and a run batted-in.

• Diaz: three for eight, with two doubles, a home run, three runs scored, and seven runs batted-in at the plate and pitched an inning with a strikeout.

• Maynard: one for four, with a run batted-in and a walk.

• Nohilly: would pitch an inning with a strikeout.

• Ortiz: would pitch ⅔ innings with a strikeout.

• Palumbo: would pitch three innings with three strikeouts.

• J.Perez: 0 for five, with a run scored.

• Pond: one for one at the plate.

• Rondon: would earn the win in Game 1 after pitching six innings with eight strikeouts.

• Sebastyanski: would pitch two and ⅓ innings in Game 2 with four strikeouts.

• Watkins: three for seven, with two runs scored, two runs batted-in, and a walk.

UP NEXT: The Elms Baseball team will return to action on Tuesday, March 18th in Westfield, Mass. against Westfield State University in non-conference action at 3 pm.

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