Bears Lose Season Opener in Myrtle Beach to Neumann

MYRTLE BEACH, SC – St. Joseph's College men's baseball team opened up their 2012 campaign with a loss to Neumann University in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Friday night, 11-1. 

The Knights jumped on top of Bears starter Donny Pagano (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's)early with a six-run first inning.  The first four batters in Neumann's lineup all reached base and with two outs scored two runs apiece on a single by Marty Sessa and a double by Dave Kalash to bring the total to six runs in the frame.

Pagano settled down and allowed just one run over the next three innings, finishing the night with four innings pitched, nine hits, seven earned runs and two strikeouts, but the Bears struggled to generate offense.  Joseph Boccia (Westwood, NJ/Westwood) picked up the first hit for St. Joseph's in the bottom of the third inning and the Bears scored their first run on a two-out RBI-triple by Mike Cundari (Staten Island, St. Peter's), scoring Joseph Mendez (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell). 

Neumann went on to add another run in the 5^th inning and three in the sixth inning on a three-run home run by Johnny Pritts.

Boccia finished the game 2-for-3 with two singles and freshman Steven Ellis (Broad Channel, NY/St. Francis Prep) added a base hit in his first collegiate game. 

St. Joseph's continues their trip in Myrtle Beach with a doubleheader against Rutgers-Newark starting at 2:00 pm.  Fans can follow the action live at www.SJCBears.com