Winter Haven, FL – The D'Youville baseball team suffered a pair of losses on Saturday morning, falling to the Lesley Lynx 3-1 and 3-2 in their season opening doubleheader.

Game one started out with the Spartans getting on the board first. Freshman Mitchell Mason (Eden, NY/Eden) got his first career hit in the bottom of the first as he belted a double to left center field. Mason advanced to third after a Justin Brackna (Cheektowaga, NY/Maryvale) single in the next at-bat, and then Mason scored the game's first run after a Travis Macrides (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) fielder's choice. The inning ended with the Spartans up over the Lynx 1-0.

It wasn't until the top of the third when Lesley would take over the lead. After a pair of walks, a single through the middle drove in the Lynx runners and they took the lead 2-1 over D'Youville.

In the top of the fifth, Lesley added another run. The Lynx runner found his way to third through a series of defensive mishaps by D'Youville and he was driven home on a sac-fly to center, giving the team a 3-1 advantage.

D'Youville could not get anything going after their strong first inning and the Spartans would fall to Lesley in game one of the doubleheader by the final of 3-1.

Kevin Kabacinski (Buffalo, NY/St. Joe's) had a strong outing in the season opener by giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out five in 7.0 innings.  At the plate, Matt Critelli (Camden, NY/Camden) led the team with two hits, with Brackna and Mason each picking up their first hits as Spartans. Mason scored the team's only run with Macrides driving him in.

Game number two of the doubleheader saw Lesley take the lead first. With two on and two out, a double down the left field line allowed the Lynx runner to score, giving Lesley the 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Macrides led off the second inning with a double down the left field line. Two batters later, Louis Reynolds (Batavia, NY/Notre Dame) hit a long single to left center, scoring Macrides from second and tying the game at 1-1.

Two big hits gave Lesley the lead back in the bottom of the third. They led off the inning with a single and then a big two-run home run two batters later put the Lynx up by two at 3-1. The inning would end with the damage limited and the Spartans trailing by two.

The Spartans started off the fifth with a single from Patrick Mulligan (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech). A sac-bunt from Khaled Numan-Ali (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga) moved Mulligan to second, followed by a Devon Kelly (Rochester, NY/Olympia) that moved Mulligan to third. Kelly then stole second and advanced to third with a Dylan Haak (Depew, NY/Depew) single that drove in Mulligan and made it a one-run game.

D'Youville had a chance to tie the game in the next inning with two runners on base, but the Lesley pitching shut down the Spartan bats and the Lynx went on to take game two by the final of 3-2.

Steve Vik (Hopkins, SC/Lower Richland) got the start in game two, going 4.1 innings and allowing only two earned runs. Freshman Tyler Siegmann (Wheatfield, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield) made his debut as a Spartan, going 1.2 innings allowing just two hits and striking out two.

Three players had two hits for D'Youville in the game, including Mulligan who picked up his first career hit as a Spartan. Macrides and Haak each had a pair of hits, with Kelly earning his first hit. Haak and Reynolds each had an RBI in the game.

The next game for the men comes tomorrow, March 19 as they play Franklin & Marshall at 10am.