Baseball Holds Off Elms In GNAC Play, 8-7

HOLYOKE, Mass. – The Rivier baseball team fended off an Elms comeback bid in the late going of Sunday afternoon's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup at Mackenzie Stadium to hang on for an 8-7 victory.

The win propelled the Raiders to 5-15 (2-3 GNAC) while the Blazers fell to 14-12 (4-4 GNAC).

Rivier took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth before Elms broke the shutout bid with a sacrifice fly to make it a three-run game.

Nate Bonacorsi threw five innings, allowing four hits, one run, and a walk while striking out three Blazers batters.

The Raiders regained their four-run lead in the next frame as heads-up baserunning from Kyle Hsu allowed him to score on a passed ball. The Blazers put up two runs in the bottom half to make it 5-3 heading into the seventh.

Dylan Aliberti's sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh made it 6-3 before a two-run top of the eighth made it 8-3. In the bottom half, Elms put together a four-run rally to cut the deficit to one run, but Ty Baker came in to close the door in the final 1.1 innings to secure the victory.

JD Normand finished 3-for-5, scoring twice while knocking in three RBI, thanks in part to a solo shot in the second. Luis Colon went 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring three runs.

Bonacorsi earned his second win of the campaign while Baker recorded his second save.

Next up, Rivier will host Eastern Nazarene in a non-conference game at Holman Stadium on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m.