Baseball Advances to Bill Giles Championship Game; Sweeps Chestnut Hill
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Thomas Jefferson University baseball team (17-10, 6-4) finished their doubleheader with Chestnut Hill College (8-21, 2-8) as the Rams swept the Griffins in both contests. Jefferson won game one 23-9, with the first matchup being the Bill Giles Semifinal. The second match went in favor of the Rams 16-3. Jefferson will now compete at Citizen's Bank Park on Wednesday, April 10.
WHAT HAPPENED
GAME ONE: W, 23-9 (BILL GILES SEMIFINAL)
Jefferson went up 1-0 in the top of the first as a Marquise Wood single brought Justin Egner to homeplate. Chestnut Hill responded with four runs in the bottom of the same inning, putting them ahead of the Rams 4-1. Two runs in the third got Jefferson trailing Chestnut Hill by one. Wood replicated his play from the first inning as a single got Egner home once more. Gabe Silva nailed a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Chris McLean home and making the game 4-3.
The Griffins hit a homerun in the fourth inning to add to their lead 5-3. The Rams added three runs in the top of the fifth as Jefferson took the lead 6-5. Silva hit a double for Josh Lopez and Wood to get runs on the board. Silva got to homeplate by way of a Justin Espinal single to left field. Two more runs in the sixth for the Rams, a walk and wild pitch, had Jefferson now up 8-5.
Chestnut Hill had another homerun in the sixth, trailing Jefferson 8-6. The Rams then put up eight runs in the seventh inning. McLean single had Jordan Tiburcio to homeplate. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Egner a score. Wood and Espinal each had a three-run homerun in the inning, getting the Rams lead up to 16-6. Chestnut Hill would put up a score in the final three innings, but would not be able to hold Jefferson down. A run in the eighth made it 17-7 and six in the ninth from a Espinal single, a walk and a grand slam by Josh Lopez concluded the Bill Giles semifinal with a 23-9 win and gives Jefferson a date on Wednesday at Citizen's Bank Park.
QUICK HITS
Josh Lopez: 1-for-5, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Marquise Wood: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Justin Espinal: 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Samuel Bass: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 8 SO
GAME TWO: W, 16-3
The Rams continued the streak they had in the first game with eight runs to start game two. Wood, Joshua Lopez, and Diego Santiago all had a single that got a run on board for Jefferson. An error by shortstop gave Gabe Silva the opportunity to make homeplate and have it at 4-0 for the Rams. Egner hit a grand slam and finished the first inning at 8-0.
Chestnut Hill took a run in the bottom of the second. After a scoreless third inning, the Rams put up four runs in the fourth. Silva's triple got three runners to homeplate while Santiago's double added one more to have it at 12-1. Jo. Lopez nailed a solo homerun in the sixth inning. Matt Vita followed that by hitting a three-run homerun to get the score to 16-1. The Griffins added two runs in the seventh inning, but Jefferson finished the second game with the 16-3 victory as they swept Chestnut Hill in the doubleheader.
QUICK HITS
Gabe Silva: 3-for-3, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Matt Vita: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Josh Lopez: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Justin Egner: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Sean Morgan: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 SO
UP NEXT
Jefferson will have a quick turnaround as they head back to Alumni Field when the Rams host Felician University on Sunday, April 7. The first pitch will be thrown at 12 p.m.
