UNIONDALE, NY – The D'Youville University baseball team fell to Molloy University by a score of 8-3 in the ECC Championship on Saturday.
 
Hunter Nowak (Hamburg, N.Y.) led off the game with a double into the left centerfield gap, but Molloy was able to retire the next three Saints' batters to escape the jam. Alex Dzimian (Lakeview, N.Y.) got the start on the mound for DYU and worked around a hit by pitch and single to throw a scoreless first inning.
 
The Saints got the leadoff man on once again in the top of the second thanks to a Jeremy Glinski (Sloan, N.Y.) single, but they were unable to bring him in. A walk and a hit in the bottom of the second put the Lions ahead 1-0.
 
Molloy tacked on three runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth to stretch their lead to 4-0 and chase Dzimian from the game.
 
DYU saw an opportunity to cut the deficit in the top of the fifth after Dzimian singled and stole second and Ethan Hammond (Oakville, Ontario) drew a walk, but they were unable to score. In the bottom half of the inning, a two-out home run extended the Lions' lead to 5-0.
 
In the top of the sixth, base hits from Jake Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Billy Morris (Lancaster, N.Y.) and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for the Saints with one out, but Molloy was able to escape the jam without allowing a run. In the bottom half, the Lions brought across two runs on three hits to make it 7-0.
 
In the top of the eighth, a hit by pitch and Glinski single set up an RBI double from Dzimian to get DYU on the board. Jon Simpson (Grand Island, N.Y.) followed with a double of his own to bring in two more runs and cut Molloy's lead to 8-3.
 
Nowak doubled down the left field line to try to spark a last gasp rally in the ninth, but the Lions retired the next three batters to clinch the win and the ECC Championship.
 
D'Youville finishes the season at 31-20 and will now wait and see if they are able to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA regional tournament next weekend.