By: Robyn Brown
“It’s a big show” were the lyrics pumping out of the speakers at the Quinnipiac baseball field on Friday afternoon as Quinnipiac’s 6-foot-5 senior Ben Gibson approached the plate.
And indeed it was a big show.
The Bobcats (15-17, 7-0 MAAC) surged to an early 3-0 lead over the Siena Saints (6-24, 5-5 MAAC) in the bottom of the first inning thanks to the bat of Gibson. And despite giving up the lead an inning later, Quinnipiac continued its offensive dominance of late, defeating the Saints 12-4.
Quinnipiac’s first baseman struck a ball far beyond the outfield fences for his team leading eighth home run of the season. This hit was only the beginning of the show for Gibson, who finished the day 4-for-5 at the plate, bringing home 5 RBIs.
“This whole week I worked on controlling my body a little bit better, which allowed me to see the pitches better, leading to better swings,” Gibson said.
Quinnipiac starter Taylor Luciani gave up consecutive hits, as well as four runs and the lead, in the top of the second inning. Trailing 4-3, the Bobcats turned to their youth.
Freshman Ian Ostberg, last week’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rookie of the week, squared a ball down the left field line for a double in the bottom half of the second. Andre Marrero followed suit, sending a ball again to the left side, but this time even further and over the left field fence. The long ball was Marrero’s second of the year, and first in conference play.
In total, the Bobcats’ bats made contact for 17 hits on Friday, their most at home this season.
“When you don’t have your best stuff, you can rely on your sticks to get you out of it” Bobcats head coach John Delaney said. “(That) is what we did today.”
In the third frame, Quinnipiac broke the score open. Anthony Cruz, Liam Scafariello, Kevin Huscher, Brian Moskey, Andre Marrero and Gibson each added hits, combining for four runs.
The inning ended with the Bobcats leading 9-4.
Between Luciani and Arthur Correira, Quinnipiac held Siena scoreless through the next 7 innings. This included keeping preseason MAAC player of the year, Joe Drpich, without a hit. Siena didn’t see more than four batters take the plate in any inning after the fifth.
Luciani finished after six full innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs, while striking out four Saints’ batters. Correira entered in relief in the seventh inning, allowing only one hit and striking out three as he closed out the final three frames.
With the win, Quinnipiac extends its undefeated conference record to seven games, while Siena drops game one and moves to .500. Off to their best start since the 2004 season, the Bobcats remain in sole possession of first place.
“This year the seniors have taken on the whole team like a family,” Gibson said. “It’s really gone from seniors down to freshman. All of us are like brothers and it’s a great feeling.”
Quinnipiac and Siena will be back in action tomorrow, continuing the series with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
