By Magdalena Bresson
SCAD Bees 0-3 against St. Thomas.
The SCAD baseball team followed a disappointing loss on Feb. 24 to St. Thomas University with two more letdowns during Saturday’s double header.
In Friday’s game against the Bobcats, the Bees rallied against two major opponents: an admittedly strong rival team and inclement weather. But at the end of the first inning, the teams were evenly matched, tied 1-1, and umpires called the players off the field to avoid the approaching storm.
Poor defense by the Bees and pressure-batting by Bobcat hitters loaded the bases as the teams entered the hour-long rain delay.
Once play resumed, St. Thomas grabbed the momentum and scored an additional four runs in only two innings. And while Bees players Marc Malec and Jonathan Olund helped close the gap with solid batting in the bottom of the fourth and later in the seventh, they couldn’t succeed on defense. The Bobcats capitalized on their lead and batted an 8-5 finish.
Saturday’s double-header gave the Bee’s an opportunity to regroup and prepare, but early signs in the first game told a different story.
SCAD’s Bennie Sanchez (#22) threw his best pitches, but the notorious Bobcat batters seized an early lead, accumulating 17 hits in the first seven innings. Sanchez pitched a solid first and second inning, but could not recover after a crack to center-field struck him in the leg and knocked him down.
After a short delay, play resumed and Sanchez pitched through the pain, though his pitches became increasingly more erratic as the game went on. Unable to close the gap on offense, The Bees succumbed to a 15-2 spread after just seven innings.
The second game of the day proved to be a more even match. The trend for both teams seemed to be great batting followed by struggling pitchers. All told, the Bobcats garnered 21 total hits, compared to just 14 for the Bees, allowing many SCAD fans to question the home team’s pitching strategy this weekend.
And while the Bees certainly struggled on defense, Matt Zajac (#21) was indispensable on offense, gathering two hits in Saturday’s first game, and an impressive homerun later that day.
In the end, St. Thomas again prevailed 16-9, proving why they may become the team to beat this season. SCAD’s strong start has evolved into a seven-game losing streak, but they hope to turn things around with a strong showing against Jacksonville, Fla.’s Edward Waters in a double-header on Feb. 28.
