RICHMOND, Va. (March 1, 2024) -- The Sacred Heart University baseball team has struggled to consistently get the offense going during the early stages of the season, and Friday afternoon was no different. Right-hander Jake Babuschak (Jobstown, N.J.) had his strongest outing of the young season, as he struck out six over five innings of one-run ball. In the end though, a lack of run support, combined with too many free baserunners – the Pioneers walked eight and hit two more – added up to a 6-2 defeat on the road at Virginia Commonwealth at The Diamond, on the opening day of the Central Virginia Classic.
  
VCU (6-4) struck first and took an early lead off Babuschak with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Brandon Eike's double to right field, along with walks to Aden Hill and Chris McHugh, set the stage for Eli Weisner, who drove in the run via a sacrifice fly to medium-depth left field. Zack Kovalchik (Archbald, Pa.) made an effort to throw out the runner at the plate, but the ball arrived just a shade late.
 
Babuschak was in and out of trouble throughout his start, but particularly in the fourth inning, after conceding a double and a walk with two outs. However, he stifled the Rams' rally by getting Eike to fly out to center and escaped unscathed. Babuschak (0-3) was stuck with his third straight loss, despite his best outing thus far. Over five innings of work, he threw 94 pitches (55 strikes), allowed one run on four hits, walked four and struck out six. 
  
In the seventh inning, the Rams put the game to bed with four insurance runs. Pioneers' reliever Nick Kane (West Harford, Conn.) walked Hill and plunked McHugh, setting the stage for William Beam to capitalize. Beam answered the call, ripping a 3-2 pitch down the left-field line and into the corner to drive in two insurance runs for the Rams. Jake McDowell (Brookfield, Conn.) entered the game aiming to stop the bleeding, but Cooper Benzin and Nic Ericsson had different plans, as each added an RBI single to further extend the Rams' lead. 
 
Sacred Heart (0-7), aiming to mount a comeback, put two runners on base for Peter Link (Holmes, N.Y.) in the eighth. He seized the opportunity with a clutch, two-run triple to right field which put Sacred Heart on the board. The rally would end there, however, as the Rams added a run in the bottom half of the inning to create the 6-2 final.
 
Campbell Ellis got the start on the mound for the Rams. In 2.2 innings of work, the southpaw held the Pioneers scoreless, allowing just two hits while issuing no walks and striking out two. Martinez took over for the next 4.1 innings and maintained the shutout against the Pioneers with only two hits allowed. He walked one batter and struck out six in relief, while also securing the win (3-0). 
 
Sacred Heart will carry on with their weekend at the Central Virginia Classic with a Saturday matinee at University of Richmond at noon.