ANNVILLE, PA (March 19, 2022) -- The Susquehanna University baseball team battled hard and held leads late in each game Saturday at Lebanon Valley College, but fell in a split doubleheader with LVC and Vassar College. The River Hawks dropped the opening game of the day 3-2 in walk-off fashion to the Dutchmen, followed by a 14-13 loss to Vassar in a game shortened by rain in the top of the ninth. 

Game 1: LVC 3, Susquehanna 2
Susquehanna right-hander Dillan Weikel tossed a strong game in the opener, as he went 6.1 innings while allowing just two hits and striking out a career-high 11 batters, but Lebanon Valley scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off sacrifice fly to pick up the win. 

The Dutchmen struck first in the bottom of the second, as Max Kaplan connected on a solo homer to left center to put the hosts up 1-0. That would be the only run scored until the top of the eight for Susquehanna, as the River Hawks didn't record their first hit until the seventh inning. 

In the eighth, Michael Biuso reached to lead off the inning on a hit by pitch, moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Brock Veit. Two batters later, Biuso would come around to score on a throwing error to tie the game at a run apiece. The River Hawks would load the bases and Evan Knapp drew a bases loaded walk to put SU ahead. 

LVC came right back with a run of its own in the bottom of the eight, plating a run on a wild pitch with two outs to even the contest. In the ninth, Kaplan singled to third base, followed by another single by the Dutchmen to put runners at second and third with one out. After an intentional walk, Justin Ranker lifed a deep fly ball to right field which was enough to score Kaplan for the walk-off win. 

Landon Ness came on in relief and allowed no hits and no runs in his two-thirds of an inning. Aidan Martin was saddled with the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and two strikeouts. Kyle Kingsbury of LVC struck out nine over 7.1 innings, while Jacon Horton got the win in relief with 1.2 innings of perfect relief. 

Game 2: Vassar 14, Susquehanna 13
The River Hawks led 7-0 in the second game of Saturday, but couldn't hold on as Vassar plated runs in six straight innings to rally for the one-run win. Susquehanna got on the board with one in the first, followed by four in the second inning highlighted by a two-run double by Sean McCulloch. 

The SU lead would swell up to 7-0 with two more runs in the top of the third, but the Brewers came back with three in the bottom half to make it 7-3. Susquehanna would get two right back, in an inning that included a J.P. Yore homer to left center. 

The fifth inning saw Yore drive in another run, as he doubled in McCulloch, but Vassar pushed three across to make it a 10-8 game. Tyler Klus drove in a run in the sixth inning with an RBI single to plate Kris Morrow, putting SU back up three at 11-8. 

In the seventh, SU pushed its lead up to four thanks to a failed double-play turn that led to two runs scoring for the River Hawks. Vassar came back with a three-run homer down the left-field line by Andrew Kanellis to make it 13-12. VC tied the game in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, and took its first lead of the game on a RBI single later in the frame to take a 14-13 edge. 

In the top of the ninth, Morrow led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michael Mancuso. It was at that moment that the rain came, washing out the remainder of the game, and handing Vassar the victory. 

Morrow finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a double, while Yore logged a 3-for-6 afternoon with two runs and two RBI. Knapp tallied two hits, including a double, along with an RBI and run scored while McCulloch was 1-for-4 with three RBI and two runs. The 12 hits tied for a season-high. 

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Up Next 

• The River Hawks will be right back on the diamond Sunday afternoon, opening their 2022 home slate with a non-conference doubleheader against Widener University at Bollinger field at 12:30 p.m.

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