BOX SCORE

WEST PALM BEACH, Fl. - The Bloomfield College baseball team improved to 1-2 on the season Wednesday afternoon, as they scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning to ensure a 7-6 victory over Post University in the club's opening game of a five-game stay in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Senior righty Luis Nova (Santo Domingo, D.R.) ran his streak of consecutive innings without yielding an earned run to 11 to begin his final season at Bloomfield, tossing six innings against the Eagles and yielding three unearned runs on seven hits. The Deacons were able to break a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth, when senior third baseman Anthony Koban (Elmwood Park, N.J.) drove in center fielder Joe Meola (Maplewood, N.J.) on a fielder's choice to put Bloomfield up 1-0.

Post would answer with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, capitalizing on three consecutive Bloomfield errors to grab a two-run lead. The Deacons would respond with a rally of their own in the next frame, however, notching a four-run seventh to regain the lead.  Koban drove in Meola for the second time on the afternoon with an RBI double to start the flurry, with rookie first baseman Holvin Figueroa (Vineland, N.J.) putting the Deacons on top 4-3 with a two-out RBI single four batters later.  Junior outfielder Paul Chong (Rutherford, N.J.) followed with an RBI double, extending Bloomfield's lead to 5-3.

The Eagles would again rally in the seesaw affair, scoring a run in the seventh and eighth innings to tie the score at five and send the game to extra innings.  The Deacons would respond with the decisive blow of the afternoon in the top of the tenth, as Meola scored on a wild pitch after reaching base for the fifth time on the day to put Bloomfield up 6-5.  Junior outfielder Eduardo Valdez (Santo Domingo, D.R.) followed with an RBI triple - the first hit of his Bloomfield College caree - to give the Deacons a 7-5 lead that would stand the rest of the way.  Post would tally a run in the bottom of the tenth, but junior righty Blas Polanco (Paterson, N.J.) nailed down the final out of the afternoon to notch his first save of the season, giving senior lefty Josh Chesler (Cave Creek, Az.) the club's first victory of the 2013 campaign and improving the southpaw's record to 1-1 on the year.

Meola finished the day with the first four-hit game of his stellar Bloomfield career, going 4-for-5 with three stolen bases and a pair of runs scored.  Koban posted a 3-for-6 day at the plate, driving in a pair of runs to continue his hot start.  Chong joined Koban with three hits of his own in the win, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.  The Deacons totaled a season-high 17 hits in the victory, with seven starters notching at least one hit in the win.

Bloomfield returns to action Thursday, March 7, when they take on Concordia College in the second game of the club's five-game stint in West Palm Beach.  First pitch for the contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.