BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Friday marked a productive Opening Day for the St. Bonaventure baseball team as the Bonnies dominated the opener, 10-3, before holding on for a 9-8 thriller in the nightcap as part of a doubleheader sweep at Gardner-Webb.
GAME 1: St. Bonaventure 10, Gardner-Webb 3 (F/7)
The Bonnies wasted little time in scoring their first run of the season as Chris Hoalcraft doubled home Jayce Tharnish in just the second at-bat of the game.
That early lead didn't last long as the Runnin' Bulldogs quickly responded with one of their own in the home half of the first for a 1-1 tie that lasted through the fourth.
Bona surged ahead with a three-run uprising in the fourth inning, first breaking the tie on an infield single from Harrison Kaufman to plate Mike Gunning. Later in the inning, Paul Vossen drove in two more by punching a single through the right side.
From there, the Bonnies kept tacking on.
Conner Vercollone drove home two more with a liner to center in the fifth after a fielder's choice plated the fifth run of the game.
In the sixth, the Bonnies played long ball as both Tharnish and David Marshall Jr. homered to put the visitors into double digits and a 10-1 lead.
Gardner-Webb added two on solo homers in the seventh, but the Bonnies held on comfortably.
Tharnish and Vossen both had two hits in the game.
James Capellupo made his Bonnies debut on the hill and earned the win with four innings of one-run work, striking out three and walking one with just one run against him. Gabe Watts worked the final three frames, allowing two runs without a walk while fanning six.
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GAME 2: St. Bonaventure 9, Gardner-Webb 8
The Bonnies (2-0) carried over their momentum into the late game as an infield single from Gunning scored Tharnish in the third and the lead moved to 2-0 on an RBI knock off the bat of Antonio Cordeiro.
Vercollone smashed his first career homer, a no-doubter to left, in the second for a 3-0 advantage.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-2) got a run back in the third, but the Bonnies led 4-1 after two and a half.
Aaron Morgan's two-run homer got the hosts back within 4-3 before the next three runs went up for the Bonnies.
Hoalcraft doubled home a tally to begin a three-run fourth that also saw a run-scoring groundout from Marshall and a two-out RBI single from Kaufmann for a 7-3 cushion.
The hosts scored four times between the fourth and fifth innings to knot to score at 7-7 after five, however.
In the sixth, the Bonnies answered when Morgan Little doubled in a run for an 8-7 score followed by another RBI from Kaufman for a 9-7 lead.
G-W had a double and a triple back-to-back in the sixth to put the tying run 90 feet away, but Luke Roggenburk got out of trouble.
In the seventh, the Runnin' Bulldogs put the potential tying run on second but again could not cash in. Once more in the eighth, the Bulldogs threatened with a runner on second before Roggenburk coaxed a flyball out.
Cordeiro posted three hits with Tharnish, Gunning and Vercollone all collecting two each. Kaufman drove in three runs to help power the offense.
Roggenburk was excellent in relief, earning the win with 5.2 frames out of the bullpen. He allowed three runs and did not walk a batter while striking out five. He recorded a perfect ninth to close the door.
Michael Salina started and punched out eight in 3.1 innings.
Hoalcraft stole two bases in game one while Tharnish swiped two bags in game two.
For the Bonnies, it marks their first 2-0 start since 2020.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JASON RATHBUN
"Very proud of how our guys played in their first day outside. No errors and limited walks is always a key to winning games. We got huge innings out of the bullpen from two seniors in Gabe and Luke and I'm happy for them. We hope this is only the beginning for this special group."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies and Bulldogs have two more games scheduled this weekend, with Saturday set for a 3 p.m. start due to inclement weather in the forecast. Stay posted to @BonniesBaseball on X for updates.
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