EASTON, Pa. — The Holy Cross baseball team fell to Lafayette, 3-1, in the teams' Patriot League opener on Saturday, March 20.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jack DiLauro had a strong start in his first outing of the season, throwing five hitless innings for the Crusaders (0-2, 0-1 Patriot League) and not allowing any earned runs while also striking out five.
STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
- DiLauro (5.0 IP, one unearned run, no hits, five strikeouts)
- Latham (2-for-3, double)
- Petrushka (1-for-4, double)
- Kirkpatrick (1-for-3, run scored)
Lafayette:
- Ciuffreda (1-for-3, double, two runs scored)
- Chmielewski (1-for-3, home run)
- Yoder (6.0 IP, one unearned run, four hits, six strikeouts)
W: Yoder (2-0)
L: Dvorak (0-1)
S: Benneche (1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the top of the second, freshman second baseman Sam Kirkpatrick and freshman third baseman Thomas Latham hit back-to-back singles, and Kirkpatrick later scored on an error to give Holy Cross a 1-0 lead.
- DiLauro was strong through his five innings of work; in the bottom of the second, Lafayette (2-1, 1-0 Patriot League) put runners on the corners off a walk and error, but DiLauro ended the threat with a strikeout to end the inning.
- Lafayette eventually got a run back in the bottom of the fourth after an error, and took a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth after an RBI single from catcher Dylan Minghini.
- The Crusaders were unable to record a hit in the final three frames off a strong relief effort from Luke Benneche.
- Kyle Chmielewski hit a home run in the seventh to give the Leopards an insurance run and extend their lead to 3-1.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- DiLauro's five strikeouts are the second-highest single-game total of his collegiate career. In 18 career innings pitched, he has recorded 21 strikeouts.
DUE UP:
- The Crusaders and Leopards will round out the weekend series with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 21.
- First pitch is set for noon.
