PAXTON, Mass. – After sweeping a doubleheader versus Northland College on Tuesday, the Anna Maria College baseball team improved their record to 4-1 in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The 4-1 start is the best by any team in the program’s 30 years of existence.

 

The team began the Florida trip with an 11-3 victory over Drew University in their season opener. Junior James McNamara (Worcester, Mass.) earned the win, tossing six inning and surrendering just four hits and one earned run, while sophomore Dean Diamantopoulos (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned his first collegiate save by throwing three scoreless frames. Senior Jeff Lander (Gloucester, Mass.) had three hits and three stolen bases in the victory, while JK Vaughn (Simsbury, Conn.), Jeff Kodys (Holden, Mass.), Jeff Scafidi (Worcester, Mass.), and Justin Hyland (Spencer, Mass.) each collected two hits apiece.

 

The AMCATS returned to the field the following day to split a doubleheader with Waynesburg University. AMC took the first game 6-3 as junior Zach Rafferty (Worcester, Mass.) earned the win by tossing five innings of two-hit ball, surrendering just one run in the process. Junior Mike Galvin (Rutland, Mass.) and Jeff Lander each went 3-for-3 in the game. The AMCATS went on to drop the second game of the twin-bill, 10-6.

 

Anna Maria then swept their double-dip versus Northland College on Tuesday. Junior Brendon Tivnan (Worcester, Mass.) earned the win during AMC’s 16-8 victory in game one, while Lander went 4-for-4 with three doubles. Mike Galvin also played well, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Scafidi got the “W” in game two, as the AMC offense supported him with five runs in the opening frame, and coasted to a 12-6 victory. Catcher Jeff Kodys paced the AMC offensive attack by going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, while Scafidi helped his own cause by going 3-for-4 with four runs batted in. Mike Galvin, who has had at least one hit in every game during the Spring trip, also went 3-for-4 during the win.

 

The AMCATS will conclude their trip by playing Salem State on Thursday, before playing doubleheaders versus Moravian College on Friday, and Calumet College of St. Joe on Saturday.