EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. – The Elmira College baseball team traveled to Wilkes-Barre, PA for a pair of non-conference matchups on Saturday afternoon. The first game was against the Colonels of Wilkes University and the second was against the Statesmen of Hobart College. The Soaring Eagles battled but dropped both matchups, 10-4 and 14-0.
 
GAME ONE: Soaring Eagles Fall Short in Matchup Against Wilkes
The Soaring Eagles got started in the second inning with a two-out walk to CJ Wheaton. Wheaton stole second a few pitches later and came around to score the first run of the game on a single up the middle by Brandon Policar. Xander Canfield was strong the first two innings on the mound, allowing no base runners in either inning. EC got two base runners in the third inning on hit by pitches but failed to push any runs across. The Colonels responded with five runs in the third to move in front 5-1. Brady Buttice and Wheaton walked to start the fourth for the Soaring Eagles. Buttice moved up to third on a ground ball later in the inning. Benjamin Intili doubled to left field, bringing Buttice into score and cutting the gap to 5-2. Wilkes answered back with a run in the bottom of inning, pushing the advantage back to 6-2. Kaden Bolt was hit by a pitch to open the fifth and swiped second base a bit later. Canfield followed up with an infield single and Jordan Barthel was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A fielder's choice drove Bolt into score and cut the deficit back to three runs. 
 
The Colonels responded again, this time with three runs in the fifth inning, moving out in front 9-3. Wilkes added an insurance run in the next inning, pushing their advantage to seven runs. Gabriel Schultz and Bolt opened the seventh with back-to-back singles to get EC some base runners. Brennan Goin followed that up with a single to center field, bringing Schultz into score and making it a 10-4 game. The Colonels would close out the remaining two innings, the Soaring Eagles falling in this one 10-4. 
 
LEADERS
Offensively, Canfield led the way, going 2-4 and picking up an RBI. Bolt went 1-2 at the dish with a stolen base and a run scored. Intili was 1-4 at the plate, picking up a double and an RBI. 
 
GAME TWO: Soaring Eagles Drop Matchup against Hobart
The Statesmen struck first in this one, scoring two runs in the first inning. Hobart added another run in the second as they quickly jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. Connor Stone singled in the bottom of the second but EC could not get any runs on the board. Brendan McGar walked in the third inning, and it was followed by Bolt getting hit by a pitch. The Soaring Eagles could not manage any runs in the inning and still trailed by three. The Statesmen tacked on another run in the top of the fourth, pushing their advantage to 4-0. Barthel started the bottom of the inning with a single and Buttice followed by getting hit by a pitch. EC was held off the scoreboard in the inning, as Hobart held onto the four-run advantage. Hobart threatened again in the fifth, but Darion Rodriquez pitched his way out of the jam. The Statesmen responded with nine runs in the sixth inning to put themselves in front 13-0. Hobart added another run in the seventh to move in front 14-0. Sean Deaner started the bottom of the inning with a walk and Alex Dinicola followed by getting hit by a pitch. Elmira was unable to push any runs across as the Soaring Eagles fell in this one, 14-0. 
 
LEADERS
Offensively, Stone led the way going 1-2 at the plate. Barthel picked up a base hit in three plate appearances. Canfield notched a base hit in three at-bats. 
 
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles are back in action on Sunday April 12th as they travel to Dallas, PA for a matchup with the Cougars of Misericordia University. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.