SELINSGROVE, PA (April 21, 2023) – Looking for a return to the win column after three straight defeats, the Susquehanna baseball team got back to winning ways in fine fashion, taking both games of their Friday home doubleheader against conference opponents, Juniata. After an assured performance in game 1 to take an 11-4 win, the River Hawks continued to rack up the runs in game 2 with a 13-6 victory.

Game 1: Susquehanna 11, Juniata 4

Despite the sizable final runs total, it took four-and-a-half innings for the first run to score in game 1, as SU starter Dillan Weikel allowed just two baserunners in his first four innings of work, while the River Hawks managed three baserunners in their first three innings at the plate but broke the game wide open in the bottom of the 4^th. Tony Rossi led off the inning with a single before J.P. Yore followed it up with one of his own. Brock Veit laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the two in scoring position at second and third with one out, setting the table for Lance Book, who proved up to the task with an RBI single. Michael Mancuso would reach on a fielder's choice next, picking up an RBI as Yore scored to make the score 2-0. This brought Dylan Heyduk to the plate and the first-year infielder made the most of his at-bat, launching his first career home run over the right field wall to clear the bases and pick up three RBIs.

Now trailing by five, the visiting Eagles began to work their way back, scoring two runs on two hits in the top of the 5^th inning. SU got one back in the bottom of the frame after two one-out singles by Rossi and Yore set up a double steal, which produced a throwing error by the Juniata catcher and allowed Rossi to come home to score after swiping third. But once more, Juniata proved to have some fight in them. They got two more runs in the top of the 6^th, picking up two hits and benefitting from an SU fielding error. Weikel's day ended in the inning, but he would go on to earn the win with his final line of 5.1 innings, four runs allowed on six hits and four strikeouts. Brice Gregory took his place on the mound and did incredible work in relief, fanning two batters to end the top of the 6^th with the bases loaded before going on to finish with 2.2 innings of work while allowing just one hit and striking out four.

Meanwhile, the bats continued to show up for SU, as they scored two runs in the bottom of the 6^th after a two-out triple by Camryn Eberly was followed by back-to-back RBI singles by Sean McCulloch and Kris Morrow. Two more runs came in the 7^th, first on an RBI double by Book and then the second coming again from the bat of Heyduk, who tied his career-high of four RBIs on a single to right field. The final run for the River Hawks came on another first career home run, this one a solo shot for Eberly, who led off the bottom of the 8^th with the homer to left field, rounding out an incredible 3 for 4 day at the plate with a triple and a home run.

The team finished with 15 hits in the game, Eberly's three leading the way. Heyduk, Morrow, Rossi, Yore, and Book all had two to round out the multi-hit performances for the River Hawks.

Game 2: Susquehanna 13, Juniata 6

Juniata bounced back quickly after the loss in game 1, immediately seizing the lead in game 2 with four runs in the top of the 1^st inning. Adding another in the 2^nd inning to take a 5-0 lead, the day ended early for starter Dominic Yeager, but Aidan Martin took the mound with hefty relief work ahead and threw an absolute gem, proving to be kryptonite for the Juniata hitters as he tossed 7.0 innings while allowing just five hits, seeing the Eagles score only one more run in the 7^th inning, unearned on Martin's line.

Buoyed by the work of Martin on the mound, SU got to work eating away at the deficit, starting with a lead-off home run by Michael Mancuso in the bottom of the 2^nd inning. Now on the board, the River Hawks erased the rest of the Eagles' lead in the 3^rd, putting together a five-run frame that began with back-to-back triples by Veit and Book. Mancuso got another RBI on a single that scored Book and made the score 5-3. The bases were then loaded as Heyduk singled and Eberly walked. Mistakes began to bite Juniata as Mancuso scored on a passed ball and Kris Morrow then picked up two RBIs after reaching base on an error, giving Susquehanna the 6-5 lead.

After scoreless innings in the 4^th and 5^th, SU had yet another monster frame in the bottom of the 6^th, this time scoring six runs on four hits and two more errors by the Juniata defense. The highlight of the inning was back-to-back RBI doubles by Rossi and Jared Forscht. Now trailing 12-5, the Eagles got that aforementioned sixth run in the 7^th but had nothing more in the tank. Susquehanna restored their seven-run advantage in the bottom of the 8^th on an RBI single by Robert Cangelosi, the first-year catcher coming up with his second career hit and RBI in his 11^th appearance of the year.

Martin earned the win, his fifth of the campaign, while the offense bested their total from game 1, this time producing 18 hits, six of which went for extra bases. Mancuso led the way with a perfect 3 for 3 performance at the plate, also reaching base two more times on walks, scoring three runs, and tallying two RBIs. Morrow led the team in RBIs with three, while McCulloch, Rossi, Book, and Heyduk joined Mancuso with multi-hit performances.

Now 18-15 overall and 6-7 in the Landmark, the River Hawks will have a chance to get to .500 in the conference and complete the series sweep on Sunday as they host Juniata for a third game, this one beginning at 2 pm.

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--RIVER HAWKS--