Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton baseball team broke out the bats in a big way as the Royals (7-5, 7-5 Landmark) scored 35 runs between the two games of Tuesday's doubleheader and completed the four-game sweep of the Drew Rangers (0-10, 0-10 Landmark) at Volpe Field in Scranton.
Scranton won game one by a score of 20-1 and took game two 15-1. The 20 runs marks the most the Royals have scored since a 29-11 win over Marywood on March 26, 2019.
Head coach Mike Bartoletti's squad has won four straight and six of seven.
Game One
The Royals broke the game open in the middle innings with a four-run fifth and 10-run sixth inning to turn a 3-1 game into a 17-1 game for the time being. Scranton tacked on a run in the seventh and two in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Drew opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first, but the Royals quickly responded with three runs in the bottom of the second highlighted by RBI singles from junior Dan Crossan (Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and sophomore Anthony Tramonte (Mineola, N.Y./Chaminade).
In the afore-mentioned four-run fifth inning, a pair of bases loaded walks brought in two runs and freshman Garret Kurtz (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) plated a run with an RBI single. The 10-run sixth inning included a grand slam from senior Connor Harding (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) and a two-run pinch-hit double from junior Drew Brodine (Hopewell, N.J./Hopewell Valley) as the Royals led 17-1 after six innings in game one.
Harding led the way for the Royals offensively in game one as he matched career-highs in hits (4) and RBI (5) in a 4-6 game with a double, home run and two runs scored. Crossan and Kurtz both recorded multi-hit games and drove in three runs apiece, while junior Tyler Kirsten (Wallenpaupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) was 2-3 with two RBI and three runs scored in the contest.
Junior southpaw James Gadue (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) turned in a gem on the mound for the Royals as he allowed just an unearned run on four hits while fanning two in six innings of work. Senior righty Matt Morrow (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) and senior lefty Alex DeRosa (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) each turned in scoreless relief outings to preserve the victory for Gadue who improves to 2-0 on the year.
Left-hander Kyle Tamburra (0-2) was dealt the loss for Drew after giving up three runs on five hits to go along with three walks and two strikeouts in three plus innings.
Game Two
The Royals opened the scoring with five runs in the second and scored 15 runs on 12 hits en route to the 15-1 win in the nightcap on Tuesday.
Kirsten knocked in a pair with a two-run single and Harding delivered an RBI single of his own in the five-run second inning. Scranton once again broke the game open in the middle innings with a six-run fourth and four-run sixth inning to account for the 15 runs.
Freshman John Zarnowski (East Brunswick, N.J./St. Joseph's) cleared the bases in the fourth inning with a three-run triple and senior Kevin Johnson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) came through with a two-run single in the frame. Freshman Jack Heineman (Abington, Pa./La Salle College) delivered a run-scoring triple of his own to plate two in the sixth inning.
Owen Jaquette was tagged with the loss for the Rangers after allowing nine run on five hits while walking three and fanning one in 3 1/3 IP.
On the mound for the Royals, junior righty Josh Lydon (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) turned in a quality start, surrendering a run on three hits while fanning four in a career-high 6 2/3 IP. Sophomore right-hander Kevin Donovan (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) came on in relief and got the final out of the game.
Harding was 3-5 with an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases in the nightcap, while Zarnowski knocked in four runs and scored a pair as well. Johnson added three RBI of his own and swiped a bag to go along with a 1-2 effort with two RBI and three runs scored from Heineman.
The Royals will enjoy the team's scheduled bye week this weekend before returning to action with a key Landmark Conference doubleheader at Susquehanna on Saturday, April 17. First pitch of game one is slated for 12:30 p.m.
--ROYALS--
