Winthrop throttles LaSalle in college baseball opener

Winthrop baseball started the 2016 season picking up where last year’s 40-win campaign left off, as the Eagles put up 13 hits in an 11-2 opening day win over LaSalle at The Winthrop Ballpark.

Junior pitcher Matt Crohan was credited with his first win of the season for the Eagles, while LaSalle’s Billy Worswick took the loss for the Explorers. Head coach Tom Riginos called the win “a good start” to the new season.

“One of the biggest things I told the guys today is ‘play hard and play with energy.’ I think that’s what we did,” he said.

Turning point

The Eagles found their offensive footing late in the second inning. After singles from Mark Lowrie and Kyle Edwards put runners on first and second, Jake Sullivan launched a ball into right field for a two-out RBI double, giving the Eagles an early edge.

Critical

The Explorers went hitless until the top of the fifth inning, connecting on three consecutive hits that eventually tied the game up at two.

Crohan said that the visitors started adjusted to his fastball, and senior catcher Roger Gonzalez, who had a 2-RBI day while going 2-4 from the plate, mentioned that’s when the team told themselves to calm down and put up some runs.

“We have confidence in our offense and we know we’re going to come out here and just hit,” he said.

That bottom half of the inning is when the Eagles built comfortable lead on a five-run, six-hit half inning that saw every member of the lineup come up to bat at least once.

Star contributions

Crohan made the most of his first start of the year, going six innings and striking out seven hitters on the way to the win. Four of those strikeouts came in the first two innings against the first six hitters in the LaSalle lineup.

Riginos explained that he thought Crohan did well, and that the early strikeouts gave the team some momentum in the early-going.

Overheard

Being the first game of the new season, the players themselves were just glad to be back out and get the win.

“It’s a great feeling, being back out here. We’ve been grinding every single day and playing as hard as we can in intersquads,” Gonzalez said.

The Eagles (1-0) continue their series with LaSalle with a doubleheader on Saturday at The Winthrop Ballpark with the first game scheduled at 2 p.m.

Riginos said that senior pitcher Sam Kmeic will get the start in the first game of the doubleheader. He’ll be followed by a fellow leftie, freshman Thad Harris, in the second game.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Winthrop throttles LaSalle in college baseball opener."