DAVIDSON, N.C. -- On the opening day of the 150th season in the history of the Yale baseball program, there was not a shortage of offense, to say the least.
The Bulldogs split a doubleheader with Richmond and Davidson in two games played on Wilson Field at Davidson College, losing to the Spiders 30-2 in the first game and handling the Wildcats 22-3 in the second.
The highlights of the day were the strong pitching efforts by Bulldog starters Chris Lanham and Chris Moates, as well as the offensive onslaught in game two, which saw five Elis record multi-hit games as part of a 24-hit performance by the Yale offense.
Richmond 30, Yale 2
The opening game of the season was a rough one for the Bulldogs, as the Elis showed some rust playing on a diamond not covered in snow for the first time in months, resulting in a 30-2 loss to Richmond.
Entering the game, the Spiders (6-4) already had played nine games, whereas the Bulldogs (0-1) last played in a regular season game on May 4 against Dartmouth.
Ace right-hander Chris Lanham started the game for the Elis and threw 89 pitches in 4.2 innings, striking out five.
Lanham, a Second-Team All-Ivy selection in 2014, was responsible for only two earned runs on Saturday, but the Spiders posted seven runs while he was in the game due to a costly error in the fifth inning.
Senior catcher Robert Baldwin picked up where he left off last season, hitting an RBI double to centerfield in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring two and providing Yale's only offense of the game.
Richmond's Kurtis Brown had a three-run home run.
Yale 22, Davidson 3
The Elis utilized a 14-run sixth inning and a six-run ninth to run past the Wildcats on their home field. Three Bulldog hitters had four hits in the game, including Richard Slenker, Eric Hsieh and Harrison White.
Slenker was 4-for-7 with three RBI, while Hsieh was 4-for-6 with two RBI. Baldwin contributed three RBI, knocking in five runners combined on Saturday.
Campbell was 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI, two walks, and four runs scored. White was 4-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Junior right-hander Chris Moates threw six innings for the Bulldogs, allowing only two runs and scattering five hits. In his first start since the 2013 season, Moates struck out six and walked only two.
"Never in my career as a player or a coach have I experienced a day like [Saturday]. There simply are no words to describe how poorly we played in every aspect of the game against Richmond. We were historically bad," Yale head coach John Stuper said.
Stuper added, "That being said, I'm not sure I've ever been prouder of a team. They play that poorly and are beaten that badly, and bounce back and play a great game. It shows character. This is a funny game sometimes."
