(Nyack, NY) - The St. Patrick's Day celebration was in full effect for the Westchester Community College Baseball team on Sunday: The Vikings wore festive green hats, celebrated plenty by scoring 33 runs over two games that were shortened by run differential, and WCC caught so many big breaks that it can be said that they had the 'luck of the Irish' on their side, combining for only 14 hits while scoring all of those runs. Ultimately, Westchester capped an impressive first week of the regular season with a 16-3 and 17-3 sweep of visiting Holyoke Community College at Nyack High School.

With the wins, Westchester CC is now 7-0 to start the 2019 season.

The opener featured a break-out performance by sophomore Steve Messerschmitt (Carmel, NY/Carmel HS). The lefty, who has done just about everything to help the Vikings this season, enjoyed a monster day at the plate, going 2 for 2 with four RBI's, including his first career home run - a three-run monster blast in the third inning - to make it a 14-1 game. Westchester scored six runs in the opening frame, and five each during the next two innings to put the game away quickly.

Aside from Messerschmitt's heroics, sophomore Steve Guzman (Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) went 1 for 2 with two walks, two RBI's, and three runs scored, while Miles Haughton (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck HS) had two RBI's and three runs scored, and Jhohandy Hernandez (Bronx, NY/Salesian) had three RBI's.

The offensive explosion was more than enough for freshman Michael Cox (Cortandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas HS), who earned his second win of the season. The lefty pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run on five hits, and he struck out eight to improve to 2-0.

The nightcap proved to be a completely different story for much of the game. Westchester opened the contest with a four-run first inning - without benefit of a hit - two runs coming on wild pitches. After that, the Viking bats fell silent for nearly the entirety of the next three innings as Holyoke attested a valiant comeback. In the top of the third inning, Holyoke looked like a comeback was imminent, when Holyoke hit an extra base hit with the bases loaded, and it looked like two runs scored to make it 4-2, and would have been closer had Haughton not thrown a runner out at the plate. However, on appeal, the field umpire ruled that one of the Holyoke run scorers missed third base, erasing a run from the board and the Holyoke rally. 

A Westchester run via stolen base in the bottom of the fourth inning made it a 5-2 WCC lead, and after Holyoke scored a run in the top of the fifth inning to make it 5-3. However, Westchester scored an incredible 12 runs during the bottom of the fifth inning to end game via run differential. The key blow was a bases-loaded triple by sophomore Sean Vanegas (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael) that cleared the bases.

Westchester combined for only seven hits, but 12 Holyoke walks, three errors, and two Viking batters hit by pitch proved to give WCC the offensive catalyst they needed.

Vanegas had four RBI's, to finish the day with seven, while seven different Vikings scored two runs apiece.

Sophomore Max Marienberg (Scarsdale, NY/Scarsdale HS) earned his first win of the 2019 season after allowing only one unearned run during the final two innings of the game, striking out two.

Westchester CC returns to action on Tuesday, March 19 when the Vikings host Union County College at 3:00 p.m. The game will be played at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY.