Over spring break, the Saint Anselm College Baseball team took to Florida to start the season and face off against some key conference rivals. Throughout the trip, the Hawks squared off against Bentley University, Nyack College, Concordia College, Rollins College and Assumption College.

Despite being able to put up some runs, the trip started off rough for the Hawks with losses in three of their first four games including a brutal 15-2 loss against Rollins College. However the momentum shifted greatly when the team crushed Bentley, putting up 15 runs and allowing only six in the process.

Max Wadington came up huge for the team, posting 5 hits in 6 at bats with three runs and an RBI. Also important in the win was John Marculitis who went 3 for 6 driving in four runs. On the mound for the Hawks was Andy Williams who was able to toss 7 full innings, allowing 5 earned runs on nine hits to earn the win. Preston Yarrington came in for the save, tossing two innings and allowing no hits with a strikeout.

After the big win, the Hawk’s batting and pitching staff came together to put up three more wins in a row. Two of these wins came off of the stellar pitching performances from Joseph Levasseur and Autrey Gates who both tossed complete games, shutting down Bentley and Concordia with both games ending 2-0.

In between those games, the Hawks offense took off again with an 8-2 victory over the Assumption Greyhounds. This time, balance was key in the victory as six Hawks managed to get a hit and contribute to the win. On the mound, Jonathan Dunn and Jared Feris combined to only allow two runs on 10 hits and 8 strikeouts. Dunn ended up snatching his first win of the season while Feris tacked on a save to his stat sheet.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the team took a close 6-7 loss in their final game of the trip to Concordia. Things were looking great for the first several innings, however, Concordia exploded at the top of the seventh to put up seven unanswered runs and the Hawks were unable to match resulting in the loss.

Even though they ended on a loss, the Hawks remain optimistic about the season due to the explosive plays their offense is capable of making. Sophomore pitcher Jonathan Dunn commented on the trip saying “The team is already exceeding expectations and everyone is excited for the rest of the season. The trip really highlighted the newfound chemistry our team had and the talent that had developed in our players over the off-season.”

With Florida done, The Hawks look to start their NE10 games in New Hampshire on March 18 against Saint Thomas Aquinas.