Baseball Swept by Chatham in Season Opener

DAVENPORT, Fla. - The Elms College Baseball team began the 2026 season against Chatham University with a non-conference doubleheader on Friday afternoon as a part of the RussMatt Invitational at Northeast Regional Park.

BASICS
Game 1
Score: Elms College 3 | Chatham University 7
Records: Blazers 0-1, 0-0 (GNAC) | Cougars 8-1, 0-0 (PAC)

Game 2
Score: Elms College 2 | Chatham University 4
Records: Blazers 0-2, 0-0 (GNAC) | Cougars 9-1, 0-0 (PAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1
Senior pitcher Justin Saad (Waterford, Conn.) would take the ball for Elms in Game One and end the first inning with striking out the last batter looking and only allowing one hit. In the bottom half of the first, first year outfielder Raynel Rodriguez (San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) would reach base on a hit by pitch, followed by back-to-back singles from first year catcher Eliam Martinez (Dominican Republic) and senior outfielder/pitcher Nason Busca (Windsor, Conn.). Then sophomore outfielder Liam Pond (Holyoke, Mass.) would rip a single to right field to drive in Rodriguez to score the first run of the game. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Brycen Diaz (Andrews, Texas) would hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, which would allow Martinez to score, and Busca would score on a wild pitch shortly thereafter to give the Blazers an early 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning. In the top of the second, Saad would strike out two more batters and allow another hit to keep Chatham scoreless for another inning. Then in the top of the third, the Cougars would score their first run of the ball game and would add three more runs to take the lead in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, first year outfielder Ryan Piccola (Oceanside, N.Y.) would add a single, but would not add any runs to the scoreboard. In the top of the fifth, first year pitcher Brady Petto (Dedham, Mass.) would come into the game to relieve Saad, but after walking four batters, Chatham would score, and junior pitcher Scott Cooper (Middletown, R.I.) would take over for the remainder of the inning, allowing the Cougars to score on a wild pitch. In the top of the sixth inning, Cooper would strike out two batters, but would allow another run to increase their opponent's lead to four runs. Diaz and Essley would both earn walks in the bottom half of the inning, but would be unsuccessful in scoring. Busca would take the ball in the top of the seventh, and would only allow two runners on base, and would not allow a run. In the bottom of the seventh, the Blazers would look to rally a few runs, but unfortunately, they would be shut down in order, and Chatham would win the first game of the doubleheader, 7-3.

Game 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, Rodriguez would earn a lead-off walk and would steal second base, followed by Busca taking first base after being hit by a pitch. Rodriguez would score after Diaz reached base on an error by the Cougars first baseman, to give Elms an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first inning, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Sal Ortiz (Springfield, Mass.) would start the game, striking out two batters, but two runs would score to give Chatham a one-run lead. In the top of the second, junior infielder/pitcher Andrew Ciaglo (Hadley, Mass.) would earn a walk, steal second base, and would advance to third on a wild pitch. First year outfielder Anthony Osella (Manchester, Conn.) would then earn a walk and steal second as well, followed by a third walk for first year infielder Colin Faber (Suffield, Conn.). Rodriguez would then come to the plate, he would ground out to first base, but he would drive in Ciaglo to tie the game 2-2. Ortiz would sit the Cougars down in order in the bottom half of the second inning, including striking out the last batter looking. Unfortunately, the Blazers would go down in order to start the third inning, and the Chatham bats would add another run to regain the lead. In the top of the fourth, junior infielder Manny Essley (Duxbury, Mass.) and Osella would hit back-to-back singles, but neither would score during the inning, and Ortiz would add a strikeout in the bottom half of the inning to keep the score within a run. In the fifth inning, Martinez would reach base on an error by the Cougars shortstop, and Ortiz would strikeout another batter to keep Elms within a run. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Chatham bats would reawaken and would add a fourth run after two big singles. Diaz would come into the game to relieve Ortiz, and would strikeout the final batter of the inning. Unfortunately, the Blazers would go down in order in the seventh innings, and the Cougars would win the game 4-2 to sweep Elms in their season opener.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rodriguez - two runs scored, a run batted in, a walk, and a stolen base.

• Martinez - a hit and a run scored.

• Busca - a hit and a run scored at the plate, with a scoreless inning on the hill.

• Pond - a hit and a run batted in.

• Osella - a hit and a stolen base.

• Ciaglo - a run scored, a stolen base, and a walk.

• Diaz - a run batted in at the plate, with ⅔ inning thrown on the mound, with a strikeout.

• Essley - a hit and walk.

• Piccola - a hit

• Faber - a walk.

• Saad - four innings pitched, with four strikeouts and two scoreless innings.

• Petto - ⅓ inning pitched.

• Cooper - one and ⅔ innings pitched, with two strikeouts

• Ortiz - five and ⅓ innings pitched, with five strikeouts and three scoreless innings.

UP NEXT: The Elms Baseball team will return to Davenport, Fla. for a non-conference doubleheader against North Central University, Minn. on Sunday, March 8th at 10 am and 12:30 pm.

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