DAVENPORT, FL - The Alfred University baseball team kicked off their full week of Spring Break competition with a pair of losses to Elms College on Tuesday. 

The Saxons lost the first game in 11-4 fashion, while being shut out 8-0 in the second leg. 

"I'm very proud of how TJ and Thomas pitched today, making their first college starts," Head Coach Brian Kehew said. "We need to make sure we do a better job on defense behind them and supporting them on offense."

Game One

TJ Pappas (Saddle Brook, NJ/Saddle Brook) made his first collegiate start on the mound for Alfred University, striking out a pair of hitters across 4.1 innings pitched. Axton Paul (Wolcott, NY/North Rose-Wolcott) made a relief appearance, closing out the final 1.2 innings of play. 

The first hit for Alfred University came from Samuel Almonte (Lake Worth, FL/Santaluces) in the second inning. In the following inning, an RBI single from Nolan Pridmore (Toronto, ON, Canada/Etobicoke Collegiate Institute) put AU on the scoreboard. Later in the inning, Pridmore crossed home plate thanks to a single by Zachary Haggerty (Hollywood, FL/Dr. Michael Krop). Almonte stepped up for the Saxons again in the third inning with an RBI single to tie the game. 

Alfred University took the lead briefly in the fourth inning after Angelo DeFilippis (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) put the ball in play with runners in scoring position. Elms responded with eight unanswered runs between the last three innings of action to come away with the win. 

Game Two

Thomas Makela (Cocoa, FL/Cocoa) was the one to receive the starting nod to begin the second leg of the doubleheader. The sophomore retired four batters via strikeout across 6.1 innings pitched. Luke Dubben (Cherry Valley, NY/Cherry Valley-Springfield) entered the game in the seventh inning to close it out for AU. 

Anthony Cortez (South Gate, CA/International Studies Learning Center) was the first Saxon to register a hit during the opening inning. Both Cortez and Haggerty contributed with hits later in the game but runs in five separate innings for Elms was enough for the sweep. 

Alfred University will next compete against North Central University on Wednesday beginning at 2:30 PM.