CARY, N.C. - GAME ONE: Early and often was the theme of the season opener for the Pacers, and not in a fortunate way. A restructured pitching staff led to senior Jarret Hall getting the opening day start on the mound.
Hall, who predominantly came out of the bullpen for the Pacers in 2024, let the first four batters of the game reach. Roanoke set the tone for the game right away with a crooked number, three runs, in the top of the first, highlighted by a triple from senior outfielder Parker Stallard.
After a relatively calm second, the Maroons struck again for four more runs in the 3rd, knocking Hall out of the game after just 2.2 innings pitched. This being a shortened, seven inning game, the 7-0 scoreboard after just 3 innings seemed close to insurmountable already.
Sophomore pitcher, Grady Swinson, toed the rubber in the third, providing some stability for a moment. However, the 5th provided more chaos as Junior Josh Gooch fell victim to towering pop flies that the Pacers could not squeeze in the swirling air. Pacer fans turned around twice and found themselves down a dozen after 4 and a half innings.
Walks, errors, and untimely extra base hits given up were the main reasons for the cascading snowball of Maroon runs that compounded early at the NTC. The Pacers never had an answer offensively, grounding into two double plays early, leaving 4 runners on base.
Peace only managed 3 hits for the game with 2 of them coming from players with the last name of Turner. Brothers Ian and Gavin Turner, tallied their first hits of the year, both coming with nobody on base.
Despite the loss, a few bright spots can be seen in the home half of the seventh inning. Reserve infielder Jacob Herzberg came to bat in the last half-inning, shooting a single into right field. Herzberg then stole a base, the first sign of life in an otherwise dreary day for the Pacer offense.
Freshman pitcher Jimmy Wormack also provided moments of positivity, recording his first collegiate strikeout. Wormack showed maturity and poise by recording outs in a game that had already been decided.
The Pacers are tasked with making a quick turnaround and bouncing back after a brief break in between games. If the Pacers can salvage a split from the double header, the heavy momentum from this rocky start will be forgotten.
GAME TWO:
Game two of the Sunday double header depicted more of a traditional, some might say "old school" baseball game, as the Pacers fell just short of Roanoke 3-2. The Pacers looked like they were poised for a bounce-back statement, as they loaded the bases in the bottom of the first. However, two huge strikeouts later, the inning was over and so was the early momentum.
There wasn't much more action until the top of the 5th, where Roanoke's Jack Fehlner started the inning off with a hard single. AFter another hit, the Maroons were on the brink of striking first blood, until Pacer second baseman Adam Joseph cut down Fehlner trying to steal home.
Contradictory to the chaos of the double header's first game, there was silence on the scoreboard for the first six innings of play. Owen Wojciechowski of Roanoke, and WPU's Jack McIntosh found themselves in a heated pitchers battle to start things off. The chess match grew for 6 fast-paced innings, until the Maroons finally strung two hits together, this time manufacturing the game's first run.
However, Peace quickly answered when Nick Tubolino led off the bottom of the 7th with a double. A walk to Jake Case and a passed ball later, the Pacers had two runners in scoring position.
After a couple strikeouts, shouts of "Princey" echoed through the USA National Training Complex as freshman outfielder Matthew Prince singled up the middle, bringing in the Pacers first two runs of the year.
A walk, a hit batter, and a sac fly would tie things up in the top of the 8th as the Maroons would not go away. The Pacers failed to regain their lead in the bottom of the 8th, setting the stage for freshman pitcher Landon Coleman to try and hold the lead after inheriting a base runner in the top of the ninth.
Although Coleman held his ground, a go-ahead double by sophomore Kyle Morshier silenced the home Pacer crowd, giving the Maroons the 3-2 lead.
The Pacers could not respond. Dalton Frasier was one toe spike away from giving Matthew Prince another chance at magic, but the center fielder was thrown out on a ground ball to the shortstop, ending the game.
There's not much time to lick any wounds, as the much improved Pacers look forward to Saint Andrews this coming Tuesday.
