Aberdeen, MD. - After 363 long days with no baseball, the Patriots took the field under first-year Head Coach Joe Clancy at the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland. Clancy led the Patriots to the first 1-0 start in fifteen years, and the first 1-0 performance since being a member of the NCAA. Valley Forge split the evening with the Defenders of Clarks Summit University. 

GAME ONE: 9-6 UVF

With senior Jeffery Espinal (Camden, Nj.) starting on the bump, Clarks Summit jumped on top in the first inning after a walk, and an error from a fielder's choice. Valley Forge evened the score in the bottom half as Kaden Gonzales (Raleigh, Nc.) started the inning with a single to right field. After a Defender error, Gonzales advanced to scoring position and scored on a shot to right from Espinal. 

Espinal collected two consecutive strikeouts, attempting to retire the side, but Clarks Summit found first base after being hit by a pitch. The Defenders were in scoring position after a walk, and found themselves in a bases loaded situation after the second hit by pitch. Clarks Summit reclaimed the lead with a hard hit ball to second base, driving in two runs on an error. Espinal ended the rally with another strikeout.

Freshman Patrick Trevillion (Buckeye, Az.) led the Patriots off with a double to left field, followed by a Chandler Beard (Orlando, Fl.) walk, and a Thomas Bost (Lancaster, Oh.) blooper to shortstop. Trevillion scored on an error from Clarks Summit second baseman, cutting the Defenders lead by 1 run. 

Valley Forge a tallied a three-up-three-down inning in the third with two ground-out, and a fly ball to center. Offensively, despite Chase Tower (Corinth, Tx.) reaching first on an error and a hard hit single to left field from Darrell Soto Diaz (New York, NY),the Defenders held the Patriots from scoring. 

In similar fashion, the top of the fourth was quiet with two Espinal strikeouts and a groundout. However, the Patriots leveled the score once again after two walks from Manuel Caballero (Rio Rico, Az.), and Gonzales, a Defenders error from a fielder's choice on an Allan Goodwin (Denver, Co.) hit, and a groundout RBI from Espinal. 

Clarks Summit heated their offense up with a single to begin the inning. The Defenders advanced to scoring position from a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a Patriot error. After a walk, and a stolen base, Clarks Summit had men on both second and third. Despite Espinal earning a strikeout, the batter advanced to first on a passed ball, which also allowed a run to score. Clarks Summit raked in another run from a sacrifice fly to left, giving the Defenders a 5-3 lead. 

Valley Forge found a spark, starting their offensive performance with a single from Soto-Diaz. Trevillion worked the count to find first base. Both Trevillion and Soto advanced after stealing second and third. With runners in scoring position, Bost grounded out to shortstop, advancing Trevillion to third and Soto to home. A wild pitch allowed Trevillion to score, tying the game 5-5. However, the Patriots weren't finished as Caballero earned a walk and a Gonzales single to deep right, scoring Caballero to claim the 6-5 lead. 

The Patriots switched a few things up defensively as Soto-Diaz found the mound for his collegiate debut. Clarks Summit began the inning with a runner on first from a Valley Forge error. The Defenders had runners on first and third after a double to right field, eventually scoring on a fielder's choice to tie the game 6-6. Soto-Diaz collected two strikeouts to end the inning. 

The rally caps were on for Valley Forge as they scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth after Trevillion batted in both Tower and Soto with a single to center. Marcos Schneider (Avondale, Az.) advanced Trevillion to third with a hard hit single to right center. Bost added an insurance run on a hard groundout to third, scoring Trevillion. 

Soto-Diaz brought the heat with his their strikeout to start the top of the seventh. He forced two Defender fly-outs to end the game, and claim the 9-6 victory over Clarks Summit. With the win, Valley Forge earned their first 1-0 start in 15 years, and their first 1-0 start since becoming a member of the NCAA. 

As a unit, the Patriots tallied 9 runs on 10 hits, and 7 RBI's. On the mound, Espinal collected 7 strikeouts. Soto-Diaz earned the win. 

GAME TWO: 16-7 CSU

Freshmen Kaben Lentzner (Kaufman, Tx.) earned the start in the night cap. Despite dropping game one, Clarks Summit found themselves on the scoreboard with an early 1-0 lead after scoring a sacrifice fly to left field. Gonzales took two bases on a Defender error, eventually scoring on a single to right center from Espinal. With the hit, Espinal breaks the school record for most career hits (106). 

Tied 1-1. Clarks Summit reached first on a Valley Forge error. After a walk, the Defenders had two men on, both advancing to scoring position after a fielder's choice. Two Defenders scored on a passed ball to first base. The offense kept it hot with a single to left field, advancing the a runner to third. Clarks Summit added another run on a throwing error to second. They ended their streak their fourth run of the inning from a Patriot error. Lentzner collected two strikeouts to end the rally. 

Down 5-1, Trevillion started the offense with a single to right, advancing to second on a passed ball. Schneider worked the count for a walk. With two runners on, Bost singled to center, advancing Schneider to second and scoring Trevillion. With Caballero at the plate, he singled to right, putting both Schneider and Bost in scoring position. With bases loaded, Gonzales earned a walk, allowing Schneider to advance home. Goodwin reached first on a Defender error, scoring Bost. On the error, Caballero tallied two bases, evening the contest 5-5. 

After the Patriots rallied to tie the game, Clarks Summit jumped back on the offensive train, scoring 4 runs on 1 hit and 2 errors in the third. Lentzner tallied two more strikeouts to end the inning. The Defenders took the Patriots down in order. 

Freshman James Mock (Marysville, Pa.) took the mound for Valley Forge in the fourth. Depsite collecting a strikeout and a fly out to right, Clarks Summit earned 3 runs on 2 hits to extend their lead to 12-5. 

With little action in the fifth, the score remained 12-5. 

The Defenders stretch the lead to 15-5 after 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 Patriot errors. In the bottom half, Bost started the offense with a fly to right field, and with the help of the win, Bost found himself on third. Caballero reached first on an error, scoring Bost. With Goodwin at the plate, he singled to left, batting in Caballero, changing the score to 15-7. Goodwin was locked in, stealing both second and third. Espinal worked the pitching count and earned a walk. Unfortunately, the Patriots' rally came to a close after a rocket line drive from Tower to shortstop. 

Junior Adriel Menendez (Philadelphia, Pa.) relieved Mock from the mound. Clarks Summit ended their offensive opportunity with scoring 1 run on 1 hit. The Patriots were scoreless in the seventh, dropping the night game 16-7. 

As a team, Valley Forge earned 7 runs on 12 hits and 6 RBI's. 

The Patriots will be back in action on Tuesday, March 16th as they travel to Neumann University for a non-conference single at 3 p.m.