Batallas Breaks Ground Balls Record on Senior Day; Saints top AMCATS 18-7

PAXTON, Mass.—Senior Nate Batallas (Templeton, Mass.) tallied 14 ground balls to become the all-time leader for the Anna Maria College men's lacrosse team in Saturday's 18-7 loss to Emmanuel in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at AMCAT Field.

Entering today's game, Batallas needed just five ground balls to break the record of 351, held by Brad Peterson '12. Batallas and fellow senior Dennis Tran (Worcester, Mass.) were honored in a brief ceremony prior to the opening face-off. Batallas graduates as one of the greatest defensemen in program history, as he now holds career records in ground balls and caused turnovers (138).

The AMCATS saw three goals from freshman Michael Rodriguez (Cranston, R.I.) and two goals each from Alex Rezendes (Nantucket, Mass.) and Tyler Hagan (Charlton, Mass.).

Eleven different players scored for Emmanuel en route to the win. The Saints were led by Donnie Litzelman (Exeter, Mass.) with three goals and an assist. Michael Donovan (Assonet, Mass.) and Charlie Moran (Maitland, Fla.) both scored three goals apiece.

The Saints wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Jake Jaskowski (St. Claire Shores, Mich.) scored 1:42 into the first quarter. Emmanuel added three more goals before Anna Maria tallied their first goal, an unassisted score by Rodriguez.

Emmanuel held a 13-3 lead at halftime and outscored the AMCATS 5-4 in the second half to take the 18-7 win. The Saints held a 46-29 advantage in shots and a 24-4 lead in face-off wins.

Jake Pickett (Stratham, N.H.) won 11 of the 13 face-offs he attempted for the Saints, who also saw a 5-for-5 effort from Michael Sousa (Cranston, R.I.), a 4-for-4 effort from Tony Marcella (North Bridgton, Maine), and a 4-for-6 effort from Justin Kelley (Collegeville, Pa.). Pickett led the Saints in ground balls with 11, while Max Mercier (Lincolnville, Maine) tallied a team-best five caused turnovers.

Austin Lauzier (Bedford, N.H.) earned the win in net for the Saints and tallied three saves in 22:42 of action. He gave way to Ben Hartig-Orr (Reading, Vt.) and Austin Rosenberg (Ronkonoma, N.Y.) who combined for five saves in the reminder of the contest.

Zachary Sylvia (Tiverton, R.I.) took the loss for the AMCATS and made nine saves.

The Saints improve to 11-4 overall and a flawless 8-0 in GNAC play with the win, sealing a first-round bye in next week's league tournament. The AMCATS see their season come to an end at 1-14 overall and 0-8 in league play.