CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-416-2137 or 518-629-7898
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Sunday, March 24, 2019
The Hudson Valley Community College baseball program hit the road for their annual spring trip to Florida last week for nine games in six days to kick off the 2019 season.
The baseball program started the week off slow, going 0-3 in the first couple of days on the trip. The Vikings quickly turned it around and finished the week with a 4-2 record, including series sweeps of Waubonsee and Northern Essex.
The Vikings played five of their nine games against top NJCAA Division III opponents, with Waubonsee (2-0), Century (0-2) and Brookdale (0-1) ranked or receiving votes in the latest NJCAA national poll.
Game One: Kirkwood 17, Hudson Valley 7
The Vikings combined for four hits and seven runs in the opening game of the season. Sophomore Nick Thomas led the Vikings with three RBIs from a three-run home run. Vicente Mendoza recorded a pair of RBIs. Ben Grant tallied two hits and scored a run.
Carson Stewart started on the mound for Hudson Valley and gave up three runs on five hits and recorded three strikeouts in his Vikings debut.
Game Two: Brookdale 8, Hudson Valley 2
The Vikings faced a top-10 program in Brookdale and combined for two runs on two hits with seven walks. Sophomores Jackson Wenstrom and Nick Hansen scored both of the Vikings run and Derrick Miller and Mendoza tallied the Vikings two hits.
James Rubino took the loss with three innings pitched and allowed three runs on six hits. Rubino also tallied five strikeouts of the 17 batters faced.
Game Three: Prince George's 8, Hudson Valley 7
The Vikings offense started to gain momentum against Prince George's in their third game of the week. Hudson Valley combined for seven runs on seven hits and were led by Mendoza's two hits. Wenstrom connected for a grand slam home run in the sixth inning, to pull the Vikings within one run of Prince George's.
Ryan Lambert got the call on the mound and tossed five innings, while giving up six runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Game Four: Hudson Valley 12, Waubonsee 6
The Vikings earned their first win of the 2019 season against a previously undefeated program in Waubonsee. Hudson Valley combined to score 12 runs on 16 hits. Wenstrom exploded for two home runs and six home runs and finished 4-for-4 at the plate. Mendoza and Grant each tallied three hits and both scored two runs. Miller reached base three times and scored three runs as the Vikings leadoff hitter.
Ryan Lawyer earned his first collegiate win and tossed 5.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits and added five strikeouts.
Game Five: Hudson Valley 10, Waubonsee 4
Hudson Valley completed the series sweep of Waubonsee as the Vikings offense continued to produce another double digit scoring game. Wenstrom continued to swing a hot bat and recorded his fourth home run of the season. Jackson's home run was his 18thof his career and became the Vikings all-time leader in home runs. Wenstrom three home runs in the Waubonsee series came on three-straight at-bats.
Anthony Raimo finished the game 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scored. Nick Thomas and Riley Nagle joined Wenstrom and the only Vikings to score two runs in the game.
Kobe Jackson earned the win on the mound for Hudson Valley as he entered the game in relief of starter Brian Lineback. Lineback finished with 3.2 innings pitched and allowed four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Jackson tossed 2.1 innings and struck out two batters and walked four.
Game Six: Century 10, Hudson Valley 8
The Vikings played a national program in Century very well over the course of two games. In game six, the Vikings combined for eight runs on six hits and recorded 11 walks. Nick Hansen led the Vikings with two hits and scored a run. Miller scored a run and ran out a hard triple for his only hit of the game.
Ryan Bradt pitched well in his first start of the season and earned a no-decision. Bradt tossed six innings and allowed four runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts.
Game Seven: Century 11, Hudson Valley 10
Riley Nagle showed signs that he was ready for a breakout game earlier in the week and during the Vikings second game against Century, Nagle produced a memorable game with a 4-four-4 night. Riley finished with two doubles, a triple and a home run with four RBIs to lead the Vikings against one of the nation's top programs.
Wenstrom joined Nagle with a 4-for-4 night as well. Wenstrom added a pair of doubles and a triple and finished with three RBIs. Nick Thomas and Derrick Miller each produced multi-hit games and combined to score four runs.
Freshman Alex Yager took the mound and tossed three innings and allowed five runs on six hits. Christian Nolan relieved Yager for 2.1 innings and Donny Chrysler closed out the final inning of the game.
Game Eight: Hudson Valley 11, Northern Essex 1
The story of game eight was the dominant pitching from Carson Stewart. Stewart tossed six innings and tallied a career high 12 strikeouts, while allowing only one run on six hits. Cam Myers relieved Stewart in the seventh inn and produced a clean slate with three straight strikeouts.
Nagle continued to swing a hot bat and finished with a double and a home run with three RBIs. Miller also continued to play well as he scored three runs again and added two RBIs. DeAndre Bowens and Ben Grant bolstered the bottom of the lineup and combined for four hits, two runs and two RBIs and continued to turn over the lineup throughout the game.
Game Nine: Hudson Valley 12, Northern Essex 11
Hudson Valley narrowly held off a comeback effort from Northern Essex to close out the spring trip with a two-game sweep. The Vikings combined to score 11 runs on eight hits with eight walks and were led by Angelo Spataro's two-hits and two RBI night.
Nick Thomas also had a great game for Hudson Valley as he finished with two hits and scored two runs. Matt Dagostino recorded a multi-hit game and added two RBIs as well.
Trevor Kniffin earned the start, but Dylan Pusz recorded the win for his first victory of his career. James Rubino tossed 3.2 innings in relief and Kyle Lambert earned his first save of the season. Lambert tossed 1.0 innings and struck out three batters to shutdown Northern Essex's and prevented any late game heroics.