SCRANTON, PA – The University of Scranton baseball team soundly defeated Elizabethtown College, 18-8, Sunday afternoon at Volpe Field in Scranton, Pa.
The Basics
- Final Score: Scranton – 18, Elizabethtown – 8
- Records: Scranton (8-6, 5-1 Landmark), Elizabethtown (9-8, 2-5 Landmark)
- The Royals won the series after taking two out of three games against ETown this weekend and have now won both Landmark Conference series so far this year.
How it Happened
- After senior Jake Elston ripped a double down the left field line to put a runner in scoring position, the Royals tallied four straight two-out hits to score a pair of runs in the first inning. First, senior Pat Coyne hit a line-drive double into right-center field to bring home Elston, and junior Conor Campbell followed that up with a base hit up the middle to drive in Coyne.
- Sophomore Jake Lopez then singled to put two on for graduate student Matthew Querey, who singled to left, however Campbell was thrown at the plate trying to score from second base to end the inning.
- Elizabethtown drew a pair of walks with one out in the top of the third and right fielder Quinten Perilli ripped a single through the left side to plate a run. Although Lopez made a diving catch to rob Mason Woolwine of a hit, the next batter singled up the middle to tie the game at 2-2.
- Coyne led off the bottom of the third with a perfect bunt down the third base line, Campbell walked, and Lopez reached on an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. Scranton went back in front, 3-2, after Querey drove in Coyne on a sacrifice-fly, but that is all the Royals were able to do in the inning as they stranded two runners on base.
- Scranton loaded the bases with nobody out and called on freshman Matthew Gannon to pinch hit. With Gannon at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Coyne to score, and Gannon then ripped an opposite-field single that scored two runs, extending the Royals lead to 6-2.
- ETown added a pair of runs on an RBI double and an RBI single in the top half of the sixth to cut the Royals' lead down to 6-4.
- Scranton loaded the bases again in the top of the sixth inning and scored their seventh run of the game when Campbell was hit by a pitch to force in a run. The next two batters for Scranton, Lopez and Querey, each singled home a run as the Royals went station to station.
- With sophomore Jared Cassella at the plate and the bases still loaded with nobody out in the sixth, a wild pitch scored the Royals' 10th run of the game, and then Casella slashed a base hit to left field that scored a pair to make it 12-4 Royals. With runners on the corners, two outs and John Heitzman batting for the second time in the inning, Heitzman ripped a line drive that went over the head of the Blue Jays' right fielder to drive in two, capping off an eight run sixth inning and making it 14-4 Scranton.
- ETown scored two runs in the seventh inning on an RBI single and an RBI ground out that brought home the Blue Jays' sixth and seventh runs of the game, reducing the Scranton lead to 14-6.
- The Royals quickly answered when freshman Jimmy Lundari drove in Lopez on a sacrifice-fly to get the run right back for Scranton in the bottom of the seventh.
- ETown scored two more runs in the top of the eighth, but the Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to walk off the Blue Jays via the mercy rule as the winning run scored on wild pitch to end the game with the Royals on top 18-8.
Top Performers
- Coyne went 4-5 with one RBI and four runs scored.
- Lopez had four hits, two RBI and three runs scored.
- Querey went 3-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Up Next
- The baseball team is back in action on Wednesday against Drew University, with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m. at Volpe Field in Scranton.
