FORT PIERCE, Florida – Head Coach Mike Kelley and the Buccaneer baseball team have been in Florida for the past week preparing for the upcoming season. Today they played for real against the Wilkes University Colonels in Fort Pierce. In convincing fashion the Bucs downed the Colonels 10-1, earning their first opening day win since 2017.

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 10, Colonels 1

Records: Mass Maritime 1-0

               Wilkes 0-1

Pitching Records: WP: Teehan (1-0)

                               S: Estevez (1)

For The Bucs

• Sophomore Joe Sanchez (Dracut, Mass), Junior Ben Paine (Dartmouth, Mass) and Senior Angus McNeil (Middleton, Mass) each recorded two hits in the game, combining for six of the team's 10 total hits.
• Sanchez, Junior Dylan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass) and Freshman Braden Killens (Marshfield, Mass) all scored twice.
• McNeil drove in a game-high three runs.
• Senior Nick Haley (Hanson, Mass) recorded the only extra base hit in the game for Maritime in the form of a double.
• Killens recorded two stolen bases in the game with Haley and Sophomore A.J. Luciano (Lynn, Mass) each stealing one.
• Junior John Teehan (Boston, Mass) was the opening day starter for the Buccaneers. He pitched four innings, allowed one hit, walked four and struck out three. Though he only pitched four innings he was credited with the win due the outing being a planned four inning day.
• Junior Lucas Estevez (Tampa, Fla) came in in relief to begin the seventh inning. He went on to strike out five Colonel hitters in a three inning performance to pick up the save.

How It Happened

The Buccaneers put the opener away in the first inning scoring three runs in the bottom of the frame. Neither team would score again until the bottom of the fourth when the Bucs added a fourth run. After four scoreless innings on the bump, Teehan left the game with a commanding 4-0 advantage. Brady Parks (Seaford, Del) came in in relief in the fifth. In his two innings he allowed one hit and a run but the run went down as unearned as the runner scored on a passed ball.

Following the Colonel run in the top of the fifth, cutting the lead to 4-1, the Bucs answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs to run the score to 6-0.

Maritime went on to score three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh. On the back of Estevez's performance in the latter innings, the Bucs held on to their big lead and put the cherry on top, ending the game on a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

The Buccaneers take the field tomorrow in Fort Pierce for a double header against Muskingum at 1 & 4pm to wrap up their southern swing before heading back to Buzzards Bay.