Durham, NC- The Iona College baseball team lost its second doubleheader of the weekend to Duke this afternoon at Jack Coombs Field. The Gaels (0-4) lost 10-1 in the opener and 17-5 in the nightcap.

After senior 3B Ralph Marzella doubled home junior SS Joe Lorenzo in the top of the third inning to tie the score at 1-1, the Blue Devils (4-0) scored nine unanswered runs to earn the 10-1 win in the opener.

Red shirt freshman DH Kevin Mollema and sophomore RF Chris Leahy had two hits a piece in the loss. Mollema doubled in the second to collect his first collegiate extra base hit. Senior RHP Bobby DiNuzzo (0-1) took the loss in his first start of the season.

The Gaels jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the first inning in nightcap. Junior C Andrew Wernicki drove in the first run with a one-out sacrifice fly. The next batter, Lorenzo, drove in sophomore 2B Mike Walraven with a triple.

Duke tied the score at 2-2 with two runs in the bottom of the second. Iona answered with two more in the top of the third. Senior CF Paul Salerno led off the inning with a solo home run, his first as a Gael. After Walraven singled, sophomore LF Andrew Passerelle doubled him home from first base. He was stranded at second after the Blue Devils recorded three straight outs.

The Blue Devils exploded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.

Walraven, Wernicki and Lorenzo had two hits a piece in the loss. The Gaels recorded 11 hits in the contest. Red shirt freshman Tom Sweeney (0-1) took the loss in his first appearance in Maroon & Gold.

The Maroon & Gold have the next weekend off before they travel to Annapolis, MD for the Navy Round Robin Tournament. Iona takes on host Navy in the opening game on Friday, Mar. 7, before contests with Central Connecticut and Rhode Island the next day.