Goldey-Beacom baseball was dealt a 16-8 setback to the University of the Sciences in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup in Hockessin, DE.
The Devils (5-7, 5-7 CACC) jumped to an early 4-1 lead over the Lightning in the first inning. Senior Ivan Solis (La Chorrera, Panama) doubled to left center scoring sophomore Mason Maxwell (Newfield, NJ). Maxwell had a double down the left-field line in the first inning lifting his single season total to eight, tied for seventh best in school history. He has 16 in his career, fifth best in program history.
In the fourth inning, the Lightning were able to cut into the lead after senior Justin Hill (Seaford, DE) doubled to left field driving in junior Jeff Gillis (Hockessin, DE) lifting the score to 6-3.
USciences controlled the game after extending the lead to 13-4 after a grand slam by Frank Pollock in the sixth inning.
The Lightning fought back in the seventh inning after RBI singles from junior Bryan Bell (Chesapeake City, MD) and freshman Kyle Walker (Wilmington, DE). Bell ended the game with three hits in the comeback effort.
The Lightning (8-3, 7-3) look to continue their best start of the season after currently being ranked ninth in the East Region this past week.
No time to rest as the Lightning are back in action Saturday traveling to Newark, NJ to face Bloomfield in a noon doubleheader.
Thoughts from Coach Tom Riley
On being resilient and looking to get back in the win column: "I think that we have a bunch of guys that can swing the bat. We did swing the bat pretty well today and you know they just hit a little better than we did today. But we are really confident in our pitching staff that they are going to come out tomorrow and throw a really good game and we played pretty clean defense today. The best thing about baseball is that you get to wake up tomorrow and you get another opportunity to be out there with our team and get better."
On takeways from today: "You know the good thing is that we got a lot of young arms in there. They got their first taste of college baseball. Guys did well in small stints, we got a chance to see guys pitch and we got some guys to swing in there at the end. We were able to see what guys can do and that is going to help us to continue and adapt throughout the year."
On looking forward to the rest of the year: "Our goal is the same every day. It is to play really good baseball and be great teammates. We try not to get ahead of ourselves. Our focus is what is right in front of us which is each day."
