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MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The Post University baseball team opened it 2015 schedule on Saturday afternoon with two losses at Chowan. The Eagles fell 4-3 in game one and dropped the seven-inning game two 7-4. Junior Erik Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) went 4-for-6 with two RBI, extending his hitting streak to 17 games dating back to the 2013 season.
 
Game One – Chowan 4, Post 3
Chowan pulled in front in the bottom of the first with two runs on three hits. The Eagles went down in order in each of the first three innings. Freshman Luke Leonardi (Holbrook, N.Y.) singled down the left field line for Post's first baserunner of the day. Rodriguez followed that up with a single left center to put two on with one out. Freshman Don Walsh (Hamilton, N.J.) drove in Leonardi with a hit to left as the Eagles trailed 2-1 through four innings.
 
Freshman Enzo Esposito (Hamilton, N.J.) came in to pitch in the fifth inning and shut the Rams down in order. Sophomore Joey Picone (Washingtonville, N.Y.) tripled to center to lead off the sixth. Two batters later, Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score at two. Esposito struck out the side in the sixth. He didn't allow a hit and finished with six strikeouts in three innings.
 
Freshman David Sarmiento (Miami, Fla.) hit a two-out single to left field in the seventh. He scored the go-ahead run from first on a single by junior Julio Velazquez (Bronx, N.Y.). Chowan tied the game in the eighth after a leadoff walk came home to score on a two-out single.
 
Post put two runners on the in the ninth but were unable to score. Will Gurganus drove in the winning run in the bottom of the inning with a deep double to center. Eight of the Eagles' nine starters recorded a hit in the loss.
 
Game Two – Chowan 7, Post 4, F/7
The Hawks pulled in front in the first once again, this time on a two-run home run by Blake Eure. Senior Dylan Pastor (Hewlett, N.Y.) drew a walk in the second inning. He stole second and third and came home to score on a throwing error by the catcher. Chowan extended its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the inning with a two-out single.
 
Picone walked to open the third. He later came home to score on a double by Rodriguez to right-center to make the score 3-2. Chowan hit a triple and a double in the bottom of the third to pull back in front by two runs.
 
The Eagles closed the gap to one in the fourth. Sophomore Drew Deangelis (Robbinsville, N.J.) walked to start the inning and advanced to third after a double by Sarmiento. Freshman Maxime Robillard (Blainville, Quebec) drove in a run with an RBI groundout to second.
 
Leonardi and Rodriguez both had hits to put runners at second and third with no outs to start the fifth. Leonardi was tagged out at home after a wild pitch by the Rams that advanced Rodriguez to third. Pastor smashed a double down the left field line to tie the score 4-4.
 
Chowan added one run in the fifth and two in the sixth. Post put two runners on with no outs in the top of seventh but were unable to push across any runs. Graduate student Mike Costello (Manassas, Va.) and sophomore Evan Devico (Waterbury, Conn.) combined to strike out six Rams in game two.
 
Post is back in action next weekend as they take on Mansfield, Slippery Rock, and Mercyhurst in Dinwiddie, Va. beginning on Saturday, Feb. 21.