HUNTINGDON, PA - Susquehanna Baseball held a 2-0 lead at Juniata after the first inning. The Eagles went ahead in the bottom of the second with five runs, while adding four more runs before the River Hawks could get two more runs as Juniata won by an 11-4 score. Tuesday's game ties the two team's season series at one game apiece, with the rubber match set for Tuesday, April 14 back at Susquehanna's Harold Bollinger Field.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
- Michael Girardi led off the game reaching base on an error. This set into motion him scoring the first run of the game two batters later on a Michael Gagliardi sacrific fly.
- Paul Daly singled later in the inning to score Dylan Heyduk to post a 2-0 lead.
- Caden Breault took the mound for the River Hawks and kept Juniata off the board in the bottom of the first, leaving a runner on third.
- Breault continued this into the second inning by retiring the first two batters. He would not survive the inning, however, as the base were loaded in time for Connor Blough to tie the game on a two-RBI single. Landon Blank did the same to make it 4-2 before Zach Johnston drove in another run with a ribbie single.
- Luke Goodwin took over on the mound to get the final out. He stayed on to pitch the third as the Eagles scored again thanks to a double steal that led to David Beard advancing home.
- Juniata tacked on two more runs in the fifth with a Pfeffer RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Matthew Koehler. By this point Zach Plank came on in relief of Goodwin after the latter allowed runnners on the corners with one out.
- Blough led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, then came around to score after stealing second and Blank bringing him in with another RBI single.
- Robert Kramer was called to the mound, retiring the next three batters.
- The River Hawks got a rally going in the seventh with a pair of RBI singles from Girardi and Heyduk. Those would be the team's last runs of the game as they only got two more hits the rest of the way.
- Juniata added two insurance runs in the eighth for the 11-4 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Juniata totaled 12 hits Tuesday, while Susquehanna hit nine. Girardi, Heyduk, Andrew Haussman and Lincoln Hower each had two-hit games, with Girardi and Heyduk each batting 2-for-5 with one RBI. Daly had the team's one remaining hit as he had an RBI also.
- All 21 hits combined Tuesday were singles.
- Breault was handed the loss after pitching 1.2 innings with two strikeouts and allowing four hits with two walks.
- Max Lipton pitched the bottom of the eighth as the last of five pitchers who took the mound for Susquehanna. Kramer had three of the pitching staff's five strikeouts on the afternoon, allowing just three htis with zero earned runs.
- The Eagles were aggressive on the basepaths, stealing six bases. They were caught stealing twice thanks to catcher CJ Orrego throwing them out.
UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS
- The River Hawks hold a 4-4 Landmark record, bolstered by their impressive sweep of Catholic over the weekend.
- They head to Moravian this weekend for a three-game series, beginning with one game Friday at 3 p.m. and two on Saturday starting at 12 noon.
