The Quinnipiac baseball team collapsed in the eighth inning, dropping its third straight game, 9-2, as the Bobcats got swept by Elon Sunday afternoon. 

Both offenses sputtered to open the game, with Quinnipiac senior pitcher Kevin Seitter throwing six scoreless innings to start the game. On the other hand, Elon freshman pitcher Ryan Prock threw five scoreless innings before ultimately giving up a run in the sixth.

Bobcats’ senior outfielder Anthony Donofrio drove in the first run of the game, plating junior outfielder Jared Zimbardo, who had reached on a walk, to make it 1-0 Bobcats in the sixth inning. 

Seitter worked through the bottom half of the sixth effortlessly, maintaining Quinnipiac’s one-run lead. 

After the Bobcats went down quietly in the seventh, Seitter gave up his first run of the game as Elon tied it up. 

Graduate student outfielder Luke Stephenson doubled down the left field line to bring in junior third baseman Connor Offshack, who singled to start the inning off. Seitter was able to work through the rest of the inning, but the damage was done. 

Quinnipiac’s offense got back to work in the eighth. Senior infielder McGwire Tuffy got himself to second on a wild pitch by Phoenix redshirt junior Liam Dabagian. Donofrio came in clutch again, bringing in Tuffy from second on a single up the middle before advancing on the throw home for the 2-1 Bobcats lead. 

That lead was the last time Quinnipiac was even remotely close to being in the game, as the Phoenix exploded for eight runs in the eighth inning.

After Elon got runners on first and third early in the inning, junior infielder James Broderick tied it up with a single, bringing in the runner from third. On the ensuing at back, Offshack ripped a double to bring in another run and the Quinnipiac lead had disappeared. 

Quinnipiac head coach John Delaney pulled Seitter after that, as his decision to bring the starter back in for an eighth inning came back to burn the Bobcats. 

The Bullpen wasn’t much better. Junior first baseman Cole Reynolds immediately ripped a single through the left side to bring in two more Phoenix baserunners to make it 5-2 in favor of the hosts. Redshirt junior catcher Parker Haskin kept the rally going for the home team, doubling down the left field line with the bases loaded to clear the bases. 

Quinnipiac was able to get itself out of the mess shortly after, but the game was well out of hand at that point. 

The Bobcats couldn’t muster any sort of offense in the ninth, going down in order to seal the 9-2 loss, completing a weekend sweep for Elon. 

Quinnipiac will look to re-group next weekend when it heads to New York to face Fordham in a three-game series.