SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (BVM) — The Skidmore men’s baseball team was able to get off to a hot start against Castleton. In a game with a lot of hitting and a lot of walks, the team was able to score 13 runs while holding Castleton to only three. Skidmore pitcher Justin Posnick picked up his first win of the season holding hitters to a batting average of .100. Reliever Ethan Caiazza came into the game in the last inning to close it out throwing two out of three strikeouts.

Skidmore came out of the gate hitting the ball well. The Thoroughbred’s opened up the first inning with an early 3-0 lead. Castleton tried to fight its way back scoring a run in the third, however Skidmore closed out any hopes of a comeback in the fifth inning with seven straight runs. Skidmore closed the game out after this inning, closing the rest of the game with three more runs while only allowing two. 

 Skidmore capitalized on both hitting as well as walks, while its scoring came off of seven walks and 10 hits. Skidmore’s 13 runs came from Jackson Hornung (3), Danny Melillo (2), Brendan O’Neill (2), Jaden Torrado, Nathan Wagner, Sam Browning, Anthony Mollica, Jake Hardy and Max Mello. 

No. 21 for Skidmore, Brendan O’Neill, went a perfect 3-3 at bat with two RBI’s and two runs scored, he also bombed a two run double in the fifth inning. The Thoroughbreds catcher Nathan Wagner talked about how these non-league games are going to be useful when league-play comes around.

“These games give us a good sense of where we are as a team and what we need to work on,” Wagner said. “It’s a great way to get feedback on the team and try out different guys in different spots without the pressure of having to win now that we would have in a conference game. It also just helps to get game reps under our belt so we’re in a good rhythm by the time games start to affect our playoff chances.”

Wagner and the Thoroughbreds take on Rochester University in a double header on April 3 to kick off league play for the 2021 season.

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