WILMINGTON, D.E. – The D'Youville University baseball team played a pair of nailbiters on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with Goldey-Beacom College.
 
D'Youville 7, Goldey-Beacom 6
 
The Saints struck first in game one of the doubleheader when junior Billy Morris (Lancaster, N.Y.) launched his first home run of the season to make it 1-0 in the top of the first. Freshman Ty Graczyk (Buffalo, N.Y.) got the start on the mound for DYU and didn't allow a hit over the first three innings. He walked a pair in the bottom of the third but induced a ground ball double play to end the inning and keep the score at 1-0.
 
Redshirt junior Jake Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) led off the top of the fourth with a double to right center and junior Jonathan Simpson (Grand Island, N.Y.) followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Redshirt sophomore Cooper Cefaratti (Williamsville, N.Y.) drove in Hollins with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Saints. Goldey-Beacom tagged Graczyk for three runs on three hits in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead.
 
In the top of the sixth, a leadoff single from Simpson and a base hit from redshirt sophomore Aidan Albano (West Seneca, N.Y.) placed runners at the corners for DYU with two outs. Senior Dillon Crook (Liverpool, N.Y.) served a double down the right field line to bring home Simpson and level the contest at 3-3. However, the Lightning immediately responded with a homer off Saints' reliever Harrison Lough (Auckland, New Zealand) in the bottom of the inning to go back in front 4-3.
 
DYU would not be deterred, though. Junior Kevin Del Vecchio (Niagara Falls, Ontario) led off the top of the seventh with a double and advanced to third on a Morris flyout. Hollins ripped his second double of the day to score Del Vecchio and even the game at 4-4. Simpson singled and junior Blaise Kolbert (Lancaster, N.Y.) walked to load the bases with just one away. Cefaratti and Albano drew back-to-back walks to bring in two more runs and give the Saints a 6-4 lead. Then, Crook came through again, ripping a single into left field to extend the lead to 7-4.
 
Kolbert took over on the mound with one out in the seventh and kept the 7-4 lead intact through the eighth for DYU. After he struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth, things got dicey for the Saints. Just one out away from victory, a base hit, walk, and two hit-by-pitches made it 7-5 and chased Kolbert from the game. Senior Bryce Hediger (Chaffee, N.Y.) was called on to get the final out. Things continued to get hairy for DYU, as a fielding error by Del Vecchio trimmed the lead to 7-6. Hediger was able to strike out the next batter, though, and shut the door on Goldey-Beacom for the 7-6 win.
 
The Saints' offense came alive for 14 hits in the winning effort. Albano and Simpson each collected three hits, and Crook, Hollins, and Morris all posted multi-hit performances as well. Graczyk turned in another solid start for DYU, allowing three earned runs in five innings of work. Kolbert punched out four Lightning batters and surrendered one earned run in 2.1 innings of relief and Hediger notched his second save of the season.
 
Goldey-Beacom 6, D'Youville 5
 
Once again, the Saints got on the board in their first turn at bat. Senior Alec Boucher (Essex, Ontario) led off the top of the first with a double. He advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hollins to give DYU an early 1-0 advantage. Morris toed the rubber in game two and worked a scoreless bottom of the first despite two base hits from the Lightning.
 
The Saints threatened to add to their lead in the top of the second after Simpson reached on an error and Kolbert singled to lead off the inning, but the next three batters were retired, and the score remained 1-0. Morris tossed a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the frame. He allowed a base hit in the bottom of the third, but sophomore Derek Onevelo (Buffalo, N.Y.) threw out the runner trying to steal second to end the inning.
 
In the top of the fourth, after Hollins drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, junior Garett Wilson (Webster, N.Y.) ripped a double to center field to extend DYU's lead to 2-0. However, that lead evaporated in the bottom half of the inning when Goldey-Beacom came up with three two-out hits to level the game at 2-2.
 
After giving up the lead in the fourth, Morris gave the Saints the lead back in the top of the fifth with his bat, launching his second home run of the day to put DYU on top 3-2. The Lightning responded with three doubles for two runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead and end Morris's day.
 
The Saints tied the game up again in the top of the sixth, this time with Onevelo delivering the equalizer with his first collegiate home run. However, the Lightning tipped the game back in their favor in the bottom of the frame with a pair of doubles off redshirt sophomore Connor Joedicke (Bloomville, N.Y.) to make it 5-4.
 
In the top of the seventh, Morris clubbed a double to lead off the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly from Simpson to knot the game at 5-5. A leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt set up a walkoff single for the Lightning in the bottom of the seventh, winning the back-and-forth affair 6-5.
 
D'Youville now sits at 3-7 on the year and will look to split the four-game series with Goldey-Beacom on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.