Normoyle Sets Single Season Steals Record

COLLEGEVILLE, PA – Visiting Washington College and host Ursinus split a Centennial Conference baseball doubleheader on the campus of Ursinus College on Sunday afternoon.  The Bears won game one by a 6-5 score, while the Shoremen captured game two by a 9-6 score.  The Shoremen are now 18-3 overall and 3-1 in conference action, while the Bears are now 10-11 and 2-2 respectively.

With the win in game two, Washington eclipsed its win total from a year ago with its 18th win.  The team won 17 games last season. 

In game two, Washington scored six times in the top of the second, all coming with two outs to grab a 6-0 lead.  Junior Sean Connole (Mt. Airy, MD/St. John's Catholic) drove in the first two runs on a double to left field that chased home freshman Scott Matthews (Goshen, NY/Don Bosco Prep (NJ) and senior Dwight Wilcox (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's).  Sophomore Jon Mahaffey (Sykesville, MD/Century) and Connole both scored on a fielding error by the Bears to push the lead to 4-0.  Sophomore Nick Marinelli (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) scored on a single up the middle by senior Ryan Normoyle (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) to make it 5-0 and Normoyle scored the final run of the six-run frame on a double up the middle by senior John Rolewicz (Bear, DE/Salesianum). 

Kevin Wilson's two-out double in the bottom of the third scored Garrett Smith to get the Bears on the board to cut the lead to 6-1.

WC tacked on three more runs in the top of the fourth to take a 9-1 lead.  Normoyle socked a two-run double to center that sent home Mahaffey and Connole to make it 8-1.  Normoyle then stole his third base of the game as he swiped third for his 27th steal of the season and set the single-season mark at WC for steals in a season.  He broke the mark of Jay McEvoy '05, as he had 26 in 2004.  Normoyle would score a sacrifice fly off the bat of Rolewicz to give the guests an eight-run cushion.

Ursinus scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to trim the WC lead to 9-5 on a solo home run by Ben Gresh and a three-run long ball by Rich Guthridge that also scored Josh Schnell and Joel Ackerman.  All four runs were scored with one away.  The Bears reduced the Shoremen's bulge to 9-6 on a sacrifice fly by Josh Schnell that scored Smith in the last of the seventh.

Ursinus had the tying run at the plate with one out in the bottom of the eighth, but Washington sophomore pitcher AJ Schmalfuhs (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) got a strike out and fly out to quelch the Bears' threat.  Schmalfuhs allowed a two-out single in the ninth, but retired Ackerman on a ground out to himself to end the game.

For Washington in game two, Normoyle went 3-for-4 with three RBI, three steals and two runs scored to spark the Shoremen attack.  Connole went 2-for-4 with two RBI and crossed the plate on two occasions, while Rolewicz drove in a pair.  Washington recorded 10 hits in the second game.  Pitching wise, sophomore Brian Lewis (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) got the win and improves to 3-0.  He went six innings, allowing seven hits, six runs, all earned, walking one and striking out six.  Schmalfuhs tossed two scoreless innings to record his first collegiate save as he struck out two.  The Shoremen committed just one error in game two.

Smith scored twice, while Schnell had two hits for the Bears in game two, while Guthridge drove in a three runs.  Ursinus had nine hits in game two, but committed four errors in the field which led to six unearned runs.  On the mound, A.J. Wright took the loss and falls to 1-2.  He went 3 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs, but only three of them were earned.  He allowed six hits, walked two and fanned two.

In game one, Ursinus scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick 2-0 lead on an RBI single to right by Gresh and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded to Ackerman. 

The Shoremen scored four times in the eighth inning to grab a 4-2 lead.  Junior CY Daniel Wu (Kowloon, Hong Kong/International Secondary School) singled right field to plate Matthews to cut the lead to 2-1.  Connole knotted the game at 2-2 when he singled to left and plated sophomore Pat Kinsella (Guilford, CT/Guilford).  Kinsella pinch ran for Wu.  Marinelli capped the four-run rally with a two-run single to center to plate both freshman Matt Christopher (Kennett Square, PA/Unionville) and Connole.  All four runs were scored with one out.

The Bears countered with four runs of their own in the last of the eighth to take a 6-4 lead.  Smith smacked a one-out double down the right field line to score Guthridge and Josh Schnell to even the game at 4-4.  Ursinus took the lead for good when Wilson singled to right with one away to plate Brandon Sullivan and Smith. 

In the top of the ninth, Washington got a double by Matthews that scored Rolewicz to cut the lead to 6-5.  On the same play however, freshman Michael Festa (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North) was cut down at the plate on a relay from Josh Schnell (left field) to Sullivan (shortstop) to Wilson (catcher) for the first out and kept Ursinus up by a run.  The Shoremen had runners at first and second with one away, but Bears' pitcher Steve Christakos struck out the final two hitters to tally his first save of the season.

Smith paced Ursinus' 11-hit attack with a 3-for-3, two RBI and two runs scored effort.  Sullivan was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.  Also totaling two hits were Wilson and Gresh.  Nate Schnell got the win on the hill and improves to 2-1.  He went eight innings, allowing five runs, four of them earned, gave up seven hits, walked one and punched out three.  Christakos went one inning, striking out two and allowing two hits en route to the save.

Matthews and Wu had two hits each for Washington as the visitors had nine hits in game one.  On the mound, junior Kyle Aldrich (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills Regional) took the loss and drops to 3-2.  He went one inning, allowing the final two runs of the game for WC.

The Shoremen return to action on Tuesday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. Centennial Conference game against visiting Swarthmore at Athey Baseball Park.