Cecil Settles for Split with Knights

NORTH EAST - Cecil College baseball ended up splitting a doubleheader with the CCBC-Essex Knights on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The Seahawks took game one before having the closing contest snatched away from them.

The Seahawks stand at 19-16 after this weekend's results.

Game One - Cecil 12, CCBC-Essex 7

Cecil's monster third inning proved to be the deciding factor in the opener. The Seahawks pushed through seven runs during the frame, with six coming after two outs were recorded. The Knights assisted Cecil with an error, a bases loaded walk, and three wild pitches during this stretch. The Seahawks paired this with a small ball approach, driving home four via RBI singles.

When the dust settled, Couper Stala led all players with three hits, including a triple. Tyler Burger homered in his return, while Chris Woods picked up two hits.

Colin Brosh (3-2) toed the slab to begin the game, striking out six Knights in a winning effort. Ty Whittaker closed out the contest, tossing aside three via K over the final two innings.

Game Two - CCBC-Essex 8, Cecil 6

The Knights came out firing in the first inning, scoring two runs to begin the game. Cecil once again relied on small ball, answering Essex with four RBI singles to take the lead. A fifth RBI base knock put the Seahawks ahead 5-2 after three. Essex would have a response over the next pair of frames, scoring two in the fourth via the long ball and eventually tying the game in the fifth on a Cecil error.

The Seahawks turned to Chad Francis in the sixth, and the sophomore lefty rewarded their confidence by holding the Knights scorless. Another sophomore would then come up big for Cecil during the inning, as Justin Weaver led off with a solo home run to put them up one.

With just three outs to go, the Seahawks handed the ball to Francis again for the seventh. Unfortunately, Essex sandwiched two hits around one out, then saw Eduardo Zayas hit the first home run of his collegiate career to plant the Knights ahead for good. 

Three Cecil bats recorded two hits each in the loss. Weaver and Gio Malatesta topped the team with two RBI each. Starter John Smith struck out five but received a no decision.

Up Next

Cecil travels to CCBC-Catonsville on Wednesday, April 9 at 2 p.m.