By Hannah Sabaratnam

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold lost both games of their double-header against the York University Lions at Vaughan Grove Park on Saturday, bringing their record to 3-5-0. 

In the first game, the Lions were first to get on the scoreboard, with center fielder Ethan Porter coming in to score on designated hitter Robbie Salerno’s groundball to first. TMU responded in the top of the third when first-year outfielder/pitcher Lucus Vincent singled to left, later coming home to score on a passed ball.

TMU kept the scoring going an inning later, when third-year infielder Aidan Quimpo started the inning with a walk. A couple batters later, second-year infielder Jaden Gadishaw bunted for a single, moving Quimpo to third, and eventually coming home to score on graduate student Alex Guest’s runs-batted-in (RBI) single to right.

In the top of the fifth, graduate student Ryan Ricci got on base with a single to left field, and would come home on a Lion’s error in right field, bringing the score to 3-1 for the Bold.

Third-year infielder/pitcher Luca Primono was steady for the first four innings, only allowing one run on three hits, while walking two and striking out seven. Primono could not find the strike zone in the fifth inning, allowing three walks to the first four batters.

After four 1/3 innings, third-year pitcher Andrew D’Angelo came in to replace Primono, however he would have the same issues, leading to another pitching change. This time, first-year pitcher Luca Cutrone would take the mound. Four runs later, Cutrone recorded the final out, ending a seven-run inning for the Lions.

In the top of the seventh, the Bold would respond, scoring four runs, bringing it to a one-run game. With the bases loaded and Vincent at the plate, the Bold had momentum on their side.

After a lengthy delay, another umpire took over behind the plate after the previous umpire was hit by a pitch during Vincent’s at bat, but the Bold could not come up with the tying run, ending the game with a final score of 8-7 in favour of the Lions. 

Onto the second game, the Bold had a fresh start and jumped into scoring right away when Quimpo started the inning with a walk. Three batters later, first-year infielder Alexio Metaxas hit a groundball to short, reaching first base safely, allowing Quimpo to score. 

In the bottom half, an error by TMU would allow York’s first batter of the inning to reach first safely, coming home to score on a single to left by designated hitter Eden Yang. 

The Bold could not contain the Lions in the third. After two more runs scored on four hits, fourth-year starting pitcher Mikael Aqui was taken out of the game and replaced by first-year pitcher Johnny Melino. Unfortunately for the Bold, the Lions continued to add to their run total, ending the inning with a score of 5-1 for the Lions.   

In the fifth and down by four, the Bold attempted a comeback. The Bold added on two runs before ending a tense top half of the inning, in which both dugouts exchanged some heated words.

An inning later, the Bold offence exploded, driving in seven runs including a three-run triple by fourth-year outfielder Owen Hill, clearing the bases. The Bold finished the inning with a score of 10-5 in favour of TMU. 

However, the Lions would mount a comeback of their own. After allowing the Lions to score one run in the sixth, the Bold quickly got the first out in the bottom of the seventh on a pop-up by right fielder Daniel Carlino. But the Bold could not secure the remaining two outs, leading to the Lions scoring five runs and ultimately walking off on a wild pitch. 

UP NEXT: The Bold will head to Kingston, Ont. this afternoon for their series against the Queen’s University Gaels and will hope to avoid a weekend sweep.