Box Score Davidson, N.C. (February 21, 2014)—Zach Hostetter drove home the winning run with a single in the bottom of the 12th inning to lead Mount St. Mary's to a 7-6 win over Lehigh in the season opener on Friday afternoon. The Mount rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings.
Kory Britton led off the bottom of the 12th with a double to set the table for Hostetter, who singled to right-center field with one out to plate the winning run.
Lehigh (0-1) jumped out to a 4-0 advantage with a pair of runs in the first and third innings. Tyler Brong's two-run homer in the first gave the Mountain Hawks the early 2-0 advantage. John Elson added an RBI infield hit in the third with Jacen Nalesnik chipping in an RBI single in the frame as well.
The Mount (1-0) got back into the game with a three-run fifth inning. Chris Del Vecchio led off with a single to center field, and moved to second on Andrew Frazier's first career hit. Zach Call sacrificed the runners over, and after a strikeout, Tommy Quealy's two-out single plated Del Vecchio with the Mount's first run of the game.
The Mount then pulled off a double steal, with Quealy taking second base and Frazier scampering home to cut the deficit to 4-2. Britton then singled to left to plate Quealy to complete the rally.
Mount St. Mary's evened the score in the bottom of the sixth with an unearned run. Del Vecchio reached on an error and moved to second on a Frazier base hit. Del Vecchio then scored when Lehigh's throw to first on a possible inning-ending double-play was off the mark.
In the top of the ninth, Brandon Wilt led off with a walk, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Mike Garzillo then laced a single to center field to plate Wilt with the go-ahead run. Joe Abeln doubled, and Brong walked to load the bases with one out, and Elson's sacrifice fly made the score 6-4.
The Mount rallied in the bottom of the ninth when Call led off with a single up the middle for his first collegiate base hit. After a fielder's choice, Quealy walked and Ryan Owens singled to load the bases for cleanup hitter Britton. A wild pitch allowed Brandon Scott to score to make it a one-run game, and Quealy then scored the tying run on Britton's ground ball to short.
Britton, making his Mount debut, was 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI to pace the offense. Frazier was 3-for-5 at the plate in his first collegiate game for the Mount, while Quealy, Owens and Hostetter each had two hits in the win.
Jordan Lawson struck out four while allowing just one hit in three scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win.
Karl Lamont started for the Mountaineers, allowing four runs in 2.2 innings. Lamont struck out two while allowing seven hits in his first start since the 2012 season. The left-hander missed all of last season due to an arm injury.
Austin Bonadio had a solid outing out of the bullpen, tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits with four strikeouts. Connor Graber struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh inning, while Nick Riley pitched a scoreless eighth for the Mountaineers. Chad Diehl pitched the ninth for the Mount.
The Mount will face Davidson tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
Notes: The Mount is 6-20 all-time in season openers since moving to NCAA Division I…It is the second consecutive season the Mount has won its season opener…Last year, the Mount topped Iona at home, 10-7, in the season opener…The Mount is now 4-1 all-time against Lehigh…The teams have a three-game series at Lehigh on March 22-23.
