New York University's baseball team plated four runs in the first to support
Ashwin Chona's dominant start on the mound as the Violets defeated Bowdoin College, 7-5, in Auburndale, FL to wrap up their trip to the Sunshine State with a perfect record.
Chona sat down the Polar Bears in order in the top of the first while back-to-back doubles from
Ryan Carr and
Grant Berman to open the bottom half had NYU's offense churning early. The next two Violet hitters,
Nick Argenziano and
Alex VanLandingham, also reached base and scored on RBIs from
Connor Roggero and
Cam Dunn to establish a 4-0 lead after one.
Bowdoin scraped across a run in the second, but Chona tossed scoreless frames in the third, fourth and fifth, before surrendering an unearned run in the sixth.
NYU's bats were quiet until the bottom of the fifth, when a pair of Polar Bear errors set Dunn and
Jacob Singer up to drive in a run each to pad the team's lead. The Violets scored again in the sixth, as
Dakota Barbet reached via error and went on to steal home for another insurance run.
Bowdoin rallied in the eighth, scoring three runs and cutting its deficit to two, but
Tyler Judge came in and shut the door with 1.2 innings of hitless work on the mound to earn the save and preserve the Violets' winning streak.
Chona went seven innings on the mound, giving up four hits, one earned run and no walks while fanning four to secure the pitching win.
Despite being held without a hit, VanLandingham scored twice and stole three bases for NYU. Dunn finished 3-for-4 at the plate, all singles, with a pair of RBIs.
The Violets jump right back into action when they return to the northeast, hosting Lehman College for a doubleheader on Sunday, March 20. First pitch is set for 11 am from Maimonides Park.