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Jacksonville, FL - Senior RHP
Ryan Van Spronsen's (Brantford, Ontario / Assumption College) complete-game masterpiece was the story of the day in Wagner's 4-1 victory over Jacksonville at Sessions Stadium. Van Spronsen, who improves to 2-0 on the season, set career-highs with nine strikeouts and 9.0 innings pitched while limiting a Dolphin team that scored 10 runs on 12 hits last night to just one run and five hits on 97 pitches.
In victory, the Seahawks the improve to 2-9 while JU falls to 6-8, as the teams will finish their series tomorrow with another 1:00 pm affair.
After being silenced offensively in two-straight shutouts, the Green & White started quickly against a talented Jacksonville squad that qualified for NCAA Regional Play a year ago, scoring single runs in each of the first three innings.
In the top of the first, sophomore
Ian Miller (Downington, PA / Bishop Shanahan) led off with a single for the second-straight game, before moving to second on a
Chris Smith (So., Tampa, FL / Freedom (Ellsworth Community College (IA)) sacrifice bunt. Miller then stole third and came around to score the game's first run on a
Bill Murphy (GS, Cranford, NJ / Roselle Catholic / Rutgers) infield single.
After Van Spronsen set the side down in order in bottom of the first, Wagner pushed one more run across on a Miller bases-loaded ground out to first, scoring freshman
Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township).
In the bottom of the second inning, the Dolphins threatened for the first time with runners at second-and-third and two outs. However, Van Spronsen evaded trouble with an inning-ending strikeout of Matt Frank.
The Seahawks would extend the lead to 3-0 in the top of the third with a two-out tally. Senior
Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) walked before moving to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. He would come around to score when Dini, who walked, swiped second while allowing Higgins to score on a designed play.
Van Spronsen then settled into a nice groove, retiring the next six batters he faced before the Green & White pushed the lead out to 4-0 in the top of the fifth on
Hayden Hunter's (Sr., Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) RBI single, plating junior
Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes Community College), who led off the frame with a double.
The four runs were more than enough for Van Spronsen, who was touched for just one run in the bottom of the eighth inning. With runners on the corners and no one out, the Canadian native calmly induced a double-play grounder while conceding Jacksonville's lone run of the game.
Getting stronger as the game wore on, Van Spronsen finished off the Dolphins with an impressive just like an impressive 1-2-3 frame, capping his first career nine-inning complete game with strikeouts of Jonathan Murphy and Alex McRae.
Van Spronsen, who has a 2.05 ERA with 13 strikeouts over 22.0 innings on the year, limited JU to just seven baserunners and five hits on the afternoon. Addtionally, he coaxed Jacksonville's high-powered duo of Dan Gulbransen and Adam Brett Walker to a paltry 1-for-8 at the plate, one day after the combination went 6-for-7.
Despite recording just six hits, Wagner managed to draw eight walks as eight of the nine Seahawk regular reached safely. Miller had another solid day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a run, RBI and stolen base while Dini (3 walks) and Hunter (1 hit, 2 walks) each reached base safely three times.
LHP Corden Madden (1-1) assumed the loss, yielding three runs on two hits and four walks over 2.0 innings.
Notes: The Green & White snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Dolphins with the win ... During that time Wagner had been outscored 70-22 ... The Seahawks last previous victory over JU came nearly 20 years ago on March 13, 1992 by a 10-3 score ... Van Spronsen's only previous complete game came in a seven-inning affair at Coppin State (3/18/09) during his freshman season ... Wagner has scored 17 runs in Van Spronsen's three starts, but just 14 in its eight other games ... Sophomore RHP
Ryan Casey (Paramus, NJ / St. Joseph Regional) will get the start tomorrow as the Seahawks will be aiming for their first non-conference series victory in the month of March since taking two of three from Maine in March of 2009.