CEDARVILLE, Ohio (March 20) – Led by a three-RBI effort from junior first baseman Nicco Lollio (Carleton, Mich./Airport), the Tigers played to a split with Cedarville University, winning 4-3 before losing 24-2 in the nightcap of a conference doubleheader Friday afternoon.
 
The split moves the Salem International University baseball team to 1-1 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) action, 3-15 overall. Meanwhile, the split pushes the Yellow Jackets to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
Led by Lollio at the plate and a strong effort on the mound from freshman pitcher Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate), the Tigers earned a 4-3 win over Cedarville in each teams' G-MAC opener.
 
Salem International used a two-out rally to get off to a 3-0 lead in the third inning. After the first two batters were retired in order, senior right fielder Austin Crocker (Selma, Ala./Dallas County) reached base when he was hit by a pitch. After junior center fielder Hunter Williams (Gunter, Texas/Gunter) reached on an infield single, Lollio delivered a two-RBI double to left field to give the Tigers the lead. Senior third baseman Manny Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) drove in Lollio with another double to put Salem International up 3-0 after three innings.
 
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a fielding error in the fourth to score their first run, but a RBI single by Lollio in the seventh plated junior second baseman Trent Dalton (Logan, W.Va./Logan) to extend the Tiger lead back to three, 4-1, heading into the eighth inning.
 
Junior Charles Atherton (Newark, Ohio/Mount Vernon) entered in relief of Kunkel in the eighth inning and, despite allowing the first three batters to reach, limited the damage to two runs to keep the Tigers ahead 4-3. Atherton forced a pair of fly balls and junior catcher Rahul Badve (Mississuga, Ontario/Woodlands Secondary) gunned down the tying run trying to steal second to end the inning.
 
Senior Anthony Bariso (Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs) relieved Atherton in the ninth after two batters reached with one out. Bariso sat down the next two batters in order to earn the save and give Salem International the victory.
 
Lollio led the Tigers at the plate with a pair of hits, three RBI and one run scored. Each of Lollio's RBI base hits came with two outs.
 
Kunkel (2-4) earned the win on the mound after limiting the potent Yellow Jacket lineup to one run (zero earned) on four hits with one strikeout over 7.0 innings of work. Bariso picked up his first save of the season with the perfect 0.2 inning of work.
 
Salem International was defeated 24-2 in the final game of the doubleheader.
 
Cedarville jumped out to a two run lead in the first inning behind a pair of unearned runs. The Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out in the second inning, but only pushed across a pair of runs, including an RBI single by junior second baseman Jeff Apigo (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer) to even the score at 2-2.
 
The Yellow Jackets reclaimed the lead with a run in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to take a 6-2 lead after five innings completed. Cedarville pulled away for good with eight runs in the sixth and 10 more in the seventh to cruise to the win.
 
Freshman Kevin Ortiz-Arroyo (Orlando, Fla./Cypress Creek) was charged with the loss. Ortiz-Arroyo (0-6) allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings on the mound.
 
The Tigers return to the diamond tomorrow, Saturday, March 21 for another doubleheader at Cedarville. As was the case Friday, Salem International will be the home team, because the series was moved to Ohio due to unplayable conditions in West Virginia. The first-pitch of the twinbill is set for 12 p.m.