AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The William Paterson baseball team (8-5) swept Bowdoin (1-5), 8-4 and 2-1, March 16 during a seven-inning doubleheader at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Junior starting pitchers Corey Martinez (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) and Chris Babb (West Milford, N.J./DePaul Catholic) combined for two earned runs allowed and 15 strikeouts over 12.1 innings.
 
Game One
WP built a 4-2 edge by the top of the third inning, and took control with a three-run fourth.
 
Junior first baseman Shane Adams (Cape May, N.J./Cape May Tech) reached second base on a second-inning error, and another error and a Steven DiGirolamo (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) RBI-single made it a 1-0 score.
 
An error and Jack Wilhoite homer pushed the Polar Bears ahead, 2-1, in the home half of the second.
 
Back-to-back singles by freshman shortstop Greg Cuevas (West New York, N.J./St. Mary (Rutherford)) and sophomore designated hitter Eric Breun (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) led to a game-tying base hit through the left side by sophomore second baseman Matt Ferrara (Paramus, N.J./Paramus). Freshman third baseman Christopher Liriano (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) lifted a sac fly to right, and an error plated Ferrera for a 4-2 game in the third.
 
Freshman right fielder Dan Carter (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) singled through the left side and trotted home on a Cuevas triple during the top of the fourth. A Breun groundout plated Cuevas, and Ferrara's base hit to center field pushed the lead to 7-2.
 
Ferrara opened the seventh with a single and Liriano tripled for an 8-2 edge. Bowdoin used three base hits and an error for a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Ferrara finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Cuevas added a triple to his RBI, two runs and 3-for-4 effort.
 
Martinez (3-0) allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over 6.0 innings, striking out seven and walking two. Freshman Andrew D'Ambrosio (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) was charged with two hits and two runs, and junior Jack Benson (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) got his first save with 1.0 inning of one-hit ball, registering a punchout.
 
Freshman third baseman Austin Zakow and sophomore shortstop Connor Lee were both 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Polar Bears. Junior starter Ben Osterholtz (0-1) gave up eight hits, seven runs (five earned) and a walk during 4.0 innings of work.
 
Game Two
A single run during the bottom of the fifth inning was the difference for the Pioneers.
 
WP opened the scoring in the second when sophomore third baseman Carlos Perez (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) hit a two-out single, stole second and crossed home via a DeAngelo Descorbeth (Cedar Grove, N.J./Bergen Catholic) infield base hit.
 
Bowdoin strung together a walk, fielder's choice, steal and single to knot the score at 1-1 in the fourth.
 
DiGirolamo started the fifth with a base hit through the left side and was sacrificed to second by Carter. After a wild pitch and walk, Breun singled to the pitcher for the go-ahead run.
 
DiGirolamo went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Pioneers.
 
Babb (1-2) scattered two hits, three walks and a run over 6.1 innings, striking out a career-high eight. Junior Eric Rosenberg (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) garnered the save by recording the final two outs via strikeout after allowing a hit.
 
Three different Polar Bears accounted for Bowdoin's three hits. Sophomore starter Seamus Keenan (0-1) gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out seven in 5.2 innings.
 
The Pioneers will finish their Spring Break trip Saturday, March 17, against Becker at 9:00 a.m.
 
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