BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Thomas Jefferson University baseball team (2-2) picked up its first victories of the season on Sunday, taking a pair of 5-3 decisions at Bloomsburg (1-5). The second contest was ended after six innings due to darkness.
 
GAME ONE – W, 5-3
The Rams had an opportunity to strike first but left the bases loaded in the opening frame. The Huskies took the lead in the bottom of the second on a solo home run. Another long ball in the third gave Bloomsburg a 2-0 advantage.
 
Jefferson broke through with four runs in the fourth. Chris McLean smacked a leadoff double then scored on Gabe Silva's base hit. Silva came around to score on a single by Marquise Wood to tie the game at two. Alex Gonzalez doubled in Wood to give the Rams the lead and Jay Kalieta plated Gonzalez with a single to left center to make it 4-2.
 
Alec Baltz held the advantage on the mound, allowing just one baserunner from the fourth through sixth innings. Jefferson added an insurance run in the seventh on a Silva RBI single. The Huskies led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer to get within two (5-3). Bloomsburg was able to load the bases later in the frame but Anthony Pillari registered a strikeout to secure the win and nail down his first save.
 
Quick Hits
Alex Gonzalez: 2-for-2, 2B, RBI, R, BB, SB
Jay Kalieta: 1-for-2, RBI, BB
Gabe Silva: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, R
Marquise Wood: 1-for-3, RBI, R
Alec Baltz: Win, 6.1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K
Anthony Pillari: Save, 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
 
GAME TWO – W, 5-3 (6 inn.)
The Rams carried the momentum from the opener into the nightcap, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, RBI single by Chris McLean. Jefferson made it 3-0 in the second, again striking with two away, as Jay Kalieta drove in a pair of runs with a base hit up the middle. Alex Gonzalez increased the Rams' advantage to four in the fourth, plating Justin Espinal with a single.
 
The Huskies broke the shutout bid in the bottom of the fourth, pushing three runs across on two RBI singles and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Jefferson added an insurance run in the fifth when Gabe Silva came home on an error. Tyler Behm came on for the Rams for the final two innings. While Bloomsburg put the tying run on in both frames, Behm escaped the jams to pick up the save.
 
Quick Hits
Alex Gonzalez: 1-for-2, RBI, BB, R
Jay Kalieta: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, R
Chris McLean: 1-for-3, RBI
Justin Espinal: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R
Ben Pika: Win, 4.0 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Tyler Behm: Save, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 K
 
NOTES
- Alex Gonzalez recorded his 100^th career hit.
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson travels to Pace for a four-game weekend series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 4^th starting at 12 p.m.