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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mountaineers Down St. Leo in Opener, Drop Heartbreaker in Finale

ST. LEO, Fla. – The Mansfield University baseball team picked up a split on the road against St. Leo University Monday evening winning the opener 3-1 before dropping the nightcap 3-2 on a walk-off hit in extra innings.

With the split, the Mountaineers move to 7-3 on the season. Mansfield has lost its three games by a total of just four runs.

Dylan Woodworth led off the opener by reaching on an error by the pitcher who dropped the ball trying to cover first. After stealing second, Woodworth advanced to third when the Lion's shortstop failed to collect the throw-out attempt by the catcher.

On the ensuing at bat, Matt Fisher put a two-run shot over the left field fence to give the Mountaineers the early 2-0 advantage. Fisher's round-tripper was Mansfield's first home run of the season.

St. Leo put a run on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Kory Wan doubled down the right field line to bring home Taed Moses from second.

In the bottom of the fourth, MU starting pitcher Quin Taylor found himself in a bases loaded jam with two outs, but was able to pitch his way out of it to maintain the Mansfield lead.

Conor Thompson put a one-out single through the left side in the top of the sixth for his third hit in of contest. A Brandon Miller single down the right field line followed by a throwing error by the right fielder allowed Thompson to score and gave the Mountaineers an insurance run.

St. Leo threatened again in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and two outs, but relief pitcher Jonathan Earnest was able to force a foul out to left field to end the inning with MU leading 3-1.

Facing a two-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Lions drew a pair of lead-off walks to bring the tying run to the plate. Sophomore Jeremy Mapstone came on to retire the side in order to secure the win for Mansfield and earn his second save of the year.

Taylor earned the win for Mansfield after pitching 4.0 innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. Saturday's game marked Taylor's first start on the mound with his first win coming in relief.

Thompson went 3-for-3 with a run scored for Mansfield.

In the nightcap, both sides recorded hits but neither could push across runs as the game remained scoreless through the first two innings.

Mansfield led-off the top of the third with back-to-back singles by Jon Taddeo and Woodowrth. Seth Tressler's sacrifice bunt put runners in scoring position before Joey Andrews laced a bases-clearing single up the middle to put the Mountaineers on top 2-0.

St. Leo knotted the game at two runs apiece in the bottom of the fourth after Bobby Twitty hit a two-run homer past the right field fence. The Lions were poised to take the lead the following inning as relief pitcher Joel Worthington worked himself into a bases loaded jam, but the senior held on to keep the game tied.

In the bottom of the seventh, St. Leo threatened once more with runners on the corners, but Junior Nick Keener came in to force extra innings.

The Lion's Matthew Hewitt came in to pitch the top of the eighth where he retired the side in order.

Twitty led-off the bottom of the inning with a double, before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. The Mountaineers intentionally walked the ensuing batter, looking to close out the inning on a double play ball. However, Frank Radow's hard hit grounder up the left side was just enough to bring in the winning run.

Hewitt came away with the win while Keener was saddled with the loss.

Andrews led the Mountaineers offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a walk.

The game one victory was head coach Harry Hillson's first win over a Florida school during his tenure at Mansfield. The Mountaineers lost to then No. 1 Lynn University in 2009 and to University of Tampa in the 1992 Division II National Championship.

The Mounties end their spring break trip by traveling to Eckerd College for a single game Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.