Box Score

Photo Gallery

LEESBURG, FL (March 11, 2014) – The Vassar College baseball team got seven strong innings from sophomore Jonathan Hong (Orinda, CA/Miramonte), opening the 2014 season with a 4-2 win over Waynesburg University in action from the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Tuesday afternoon.

Vassar (1-0) scored its first runs of the new season in its first chance at bat, plating a pair of tallies thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles by senior Brett Zaziski (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) and sophomore Nick Johnson (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Prep).



Freshman Bradley Kendall (Redlands, CA/Redlands) walked to start the game for the Brewers, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on Zaziski's two-bagger. Johnson followed with a shot over the leftfielders head, and Zaziski cruised home to give VC a 2-0 lead early in the contest.

Waynesburg (2-6) trimmed the lead in half in the fourth frame, putting together a two-out rally off of Hong. After inducing a 5-4-3 double play, WU used a double by Luke Carter and a RBI single from Nathan Mori to make the score 2-1. Hong would work out of trouble though, getting a bases loaded flyout to keep the Vassar on top.

The Brewers threatened in the top of the fifth, putting runners on first and second with no out. Waynesburg went to the pen, and freshman Colton Lipencott worked out of a second and third jam with two outs to keep the game deadlocked at 2-1.

In the top of the sixth, Kyle Casey (San Diego, CA/Vista) singled to shortstop, and went to second after an errant throw to first. Casey took third on a wild pitch, and was plated on an infield single by Kendall, doubling the Vassar lead to a pair. The Brewers added to their lead in the top of the seventh, as Zaziski blasted a solo homer to right center to give Vassar a 4-1 advantage.



The Yellow Jackets pulled to within two runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Jonathan Kletzli registered a two-out, RBI single make the score 4-2. Waynesburg put runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth off of Vassar reliever Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Prep), but Mrlik struck out a batter and got a ground out to end the inning. Mrlik worked a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth to record the save.

Johnson finished the contest 3-for-5 with three doubles, while Zaziski was 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk. Casey had two hits in three at-bats for the Brewers, scoring once, and Jason Garfinkel (Encino, CA/Harvard-Westlake) added a hit. Hong went seven innings, allowing one earned while scattering nine hits, while Mrlik gave up two hits but fanned three in a pair of frames.

The Brewers will return to the diamond on Wednesday morning at 10:15 a.m. to take on Franklin and Marshall College at Field #2 at Lake Myrtle Park.