(Riverdale, NY) – The opening weekend of Skyline Conference Baseball play proved two things to a young Mount Saint Vincent squad: They have what it takes to compete with the Conference's elite, however without clutch hitting and solid defense, the Skyline is a very difficult Conference to win. During doubleheader sweeps at the hands of Centenary College on Saturday and Manhattanville on Sunday, Mount Saint Vincent proved to be right up there with two teams expected to compete for the Skyline Conference crown in May, but costly blunders on the field and at the plate ultimately did the Mount in. The Dolphins fell to Centenary on Saturday, 5-4 and 4-0, and to Manhattanville on Sunday, 10-3 and 8-1, but with a line-up loaded with freshmen and sophomore and plenty of Skyline Conference play remaining, the Mount is expected to be in the thick of things when May rolls around.
The losses overshadowed incredible pitching performances by sophomore Jon O'Leary (Bohemia, NY/Connetquot HS) on Saturday, and Joe Orgovan (Norwalk, CT/Rockland CC) on Sunday. O'Leary pitched a complete game during Saturday's 4-0 loss, allowing only one earned run. However, errors in the third and fifth innings led to three unearned runs for the Cyclones, while Mount Saint Vincent registered only three hits and were struck out a combined 11 times. The 4-0 loss came after a heartbreaking 5-4 defeat to open the twin-bill as the Mount fell behind 5-0, but battled back to make it a game. However, they fell just short.
Orgovan opened Sunday's action with an impressive performance during the 10-3 loss to the Valiants when he allowed only three earned runs over seven innings, and the game was tied at three heading into the top of the eighth inning. However, the Valiants rallied for seven runs during the final two innings and turned an otherwise tight game into a laugher. The second game was all Manhattanville as the Valiants led 5-0 after four innings, and the Mount only mustered five hits.
For the weekend, no Dolphin starter batted better than .222 and the Dolphins scored only eight combined runs while allowing 27 opponent tallies.
Mount Saint Vincent returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to NJCU for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game and then travel to Division II Mercy College on Thursday. Next weekend, the Dolphins once again will compete in Skyline Conference doubleheaders when they travel to Mount Saint Mary on Saturday and host Stevens on Sunday. Sunday's action begins at noon and will be played at Westchester Community College.
