Box Score
SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton baseball team (0-3) fell to the Haverford Fords (1-2) by a score of 8-4 in non-conference action on Wednesday night at Volpe Field in Scranton.
This was the third straight of seven consecutive home games for the Royals to open the season.
Haverford got on the board with a run in the top of the first, but Scranton quickly answered in the home half of the frame as senior Kevin Haag (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining/Bridgton Academy (Maine)) drew a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third on a groundout and scored on a balk charged to Fords starter Ryan Giovenco. The Fords tacked on a pair of the runs in the second on Will Karp's two-run double and the Royals got one back on an RBI single from sophomore Tyler Kirsten (Wallenpaupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) before Haverford added a run in the third to take a 4-2 lead.
Head coach Mike Bartoletti's squad threatened in the sixth as junior Kevin Johnson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) led off with a single, stole second and later scored on Dan Crossan's (Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3. Later in the frame, the Royals had runners at first and second with one away, but Eric Kopczynski got sophomore pinch-hitter Kyler McAllister (Jefferson Township, Pa./Scranton Prep) to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. The Fords broke the game open with four runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 8-3. Haag knocked in Kirsten with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning to make it an 8-4 game.
Kopczynski allowed two runs and fanned three over three innings of work to record the win for Haverford, while Brandon Jenkins tossed the final three frames to notch his first save. Junior Alex DeRosa (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) was charged with the loss for the Royals after allowing three runs in 1 1/3 IP.
Kirsten (2-4, RBI, R) led the way offensively for Scranton and Johnson added a hit, two walks, a run scored and two stolen bases in the game.
Freshman right-hander Braden Breithaupt (Canadensis, Pa./Stroudsburg) and sophomore left-hander James Gadue (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) both tossed two innings of relief for the Royals while fanning four batters apiece. Breithaupt was making his collegiate debut. Senior righty Sam Flannery (Hop Bottom, Pa./Mountain View) also struck out a pair in a scoreless inning of work.
The University of Scranton baseball team will host Albright in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7 at Volpe Field. The two teams will play a pair of seven-inning contests and first pitch of game one is set for 11 a.m.
--ROYALS--
