The Vaughn College Warriors baseball team traveled to Phoenixville, PA, to take on NCAA Division III opponent Valley Forge Christian in a doubleheader contest to open up their 2019 season. The two teams played at Phoenixville Area High School on Saturday, March 30. Unfortunately for the Warriors they were not at full strength as several players were not able to make the trip to Valley Forge Christian. Despite dressing 10 players for the season opener, the Warriors played extremely well.
Thomas Asis (Bronx, NY) started on the mound for the Warriors in the first game of the double-header. After a rough first inning, Asis settled down and was able to pitch a complete game for the Warriors.
Defensively the Warriors only had six errors in the game one. Offensively Frandi Cueva (Astoria, NY) was a huge bright light for Vaughn College. Cueva reached based all three plate appearances. He finished the game with one run scored, one run batted in (rbi) , one double and one walk. As a team the Warriors had seven hits, six walks, stole a program high 12 bases, and scored five runs in the game. After seven innings, the Warriors were defeated 16-5 by the Patriots.
Junior captain Patrick Silva Da Cruz (Yonkers, NY) pitched a complete game for the Warriors in the second game of the double-header. The Warriors cleaned up a lot of defensive mistakes in the field in game two. As a team they only committed one defensive error and scored six runs. Cueva, Silva Da Cruz and Matthew DeLeon (Allentown, PA) each had one run batted in (rbi). Orett Irons (Corona, NY) brought in two runs in his three plate appearances. The Warriors would go on to lose the second game of the double-header 13-6.
Despite dropping both games of the season opener, the Warriors will be able to learn from their errors and continue to shape the identity of their team. They will face NCAA Division III opponent Yeshiva University in their next outing.