Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

The Malone University baseball team began its 2013 season in Tucson, Arizona on Friday afternoon with a pair of victories over Benedictine University (IL) at Springfield.  The Pioneers notched a 3-0 victory in the opener before registering a thrilling 7-6 triumph in the 11-inning finale.

Malone and Benedictine Springfield will face off again on Saturday at the Tucson Invitational with a single, nine-inning game at 4:00 p.m. MST (6:00 p.m. EST).

Game One Recap
Senior right-handed starting pitcher Jared Messer picked up right where he left off last season, tossing six solid innings in the opener to lead the Pioneers to the shutout win. 

The Pioneers got on the scoreboard in just the second at-bat of the season as red-shirt freshman leftfielder Austin Pachan led off the first inning with a double and then came around to score when the very next batter, junior rightfielder Michael Chack, lined a single to right.

The Pioneers then tacked on solo runs in the top of the third and top of the seventh thanks to RBI base hits by third baseman Bob Suitca.  The Malone clean-up hitter drove in Chack with a single in the third and then chased home Pachan with a two-out double in the seventh.

These three runs proved to be more than enough for Messer and senior closer Jesse Coblentz.  Messer struckout six while allowing just four hits over his six innings of work.  Coblentz then entered in the seventh and retired the side in order to earn his first save of the season.

Malone totaled 10 hits in the contest.  Suitca went 3-for-4 while Pachan, Chack, and first baseman Frank Dufour, the first three batters in the Pioneer lineup, all totaled two hits apiece.

Game Two Recap
Benedictine Springfield broke a 5-5 tie with a run in the top of the 11th inning of game two.  However, Malone rallied back in the bottom of the inning, securing the victory on a walk-off, two-run double by Suitca.

The Pioneers held a 5-1 advantage entering the top of the seventh inning of the finale before the Bulldogs fought back to tie the game with a four-run rally.  An error, a single and a walk loaded the bases with no outs.  Coblentz, who had come on to get the final two outs in the top of the sixth, then managed to strike out the next two Benedictine batters.  However, Bulldog catcher Eric Dodd made it 5-2 with a single through the left side of the infield before pinch hitter Zane Dillon stepped to the plate and delivered a bases-clearing, three-run double to left-center, knotting the score at 5-5.

The score then remained deadlocked until a pair of Pioneer errors and a sacrifice fly allowed the Bulldogs to pull in front in the top of the 11th.

Centerfielder Daulton Ritter got things started for Malone in the bottom of the inning by reaching first on a Benedictine error.  He then moved to second on a single by Pachan and then to third when Chack drew a walk to load the bases.  Two batters later, Suitca delivered the tying and game-winning runs with a double to left

Freshman Joe Costello earned his first collegiate victory after working the top of the 11th.  Taylore Baker started the game, limiting the Bulldogs to just three hits and no runs over the first five innings.

The Pioneers racked up 14 hits in the contest as Ritter, Pachan, Chack, Suitca and designated hitter Matt Davis all notched two hits each.