Patterson and Mondro Help Key Baseball’s Opening Day Sweep of Penn State Fayette

Recap, photo courtesy of WPI

Auburndale, FL --- Tyrone Patterson (Upper Marlboro, MD) batted 3-for-4 with a triple and a home run in the season opener and Alexander Mondro (Westford, MA) struck out 10 in six shutout innings in game two as WPI swept Penn State Fayette, 10-5, and 7-0, Sunday at the Russmatt Invitational.

Ryan Tropeano (Pembroke, MA) and Martin McCormack (Quincy, MA) also had a pair of hits in the eye-opener including a triple by the upperclassman and a pair of RBI by the rookie. Steven Gallagher (Coventry, RI) (sac fly, RBI), David Larson (Port Tobacco, MD) (RBI) and Austin Lindner (Princeton Jct., NJ) (RBI) clubbed doubles. Larson and Benjamin Chaffee (Franklin, MA) each stole a base. Doug Rives (Bethany, CT) yielded three hits and a walk while striking out six in his season debut. Nick Tagaris (New City, NY) struck out three in the final 2 1/3 en route to the save.

After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the fourth, WPI responded with three in the home half of the inning as Larson's and Lindner's RBI doubles sandwiched an unearned run as a result of a failed pickoff attempt. Patterson later tripled and Gallagher used his sac fly to make it 5-2 through five.

Penn State Fayette added a run in the top of the sixth; however, it was countered by McCormack's 2 RBI single to center. Patterson then launched a three-run blast to left for the 10-3 advantage heading into the seventh. A sacrifice bunt and a single down the left field line produced two more runs for Penn State Fayette for the 10-5 final.

Chaffee was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI while Gallagher (double, 3 RBI) and Larson (double) each notched a pair of hits in the nightcap. Josh Herlands (Glastonbury, CT) contributed with a sacrifice fly while Tropeano and Patterson each stole a pair of bases.

Mondro, who only allowed two hits and four walks, was relieved by Kyle Wood (Hauppauge, NY) who fanned three in an inning of work.

Gallagher doubled in a run in the first and chased another home with an RBI ground out in the third. Tropeano scampered home on a miscue in the fifth before Matt Howard (Worcester, MA) singled in Patterson with an infield hit. Gallaher began a three-run seventh with an RBI single. Herlands lifted a sacrifice fly to right and Chaffee singled in the final runner of the day.