SCRANTON, PA - The Susquehanna University baseball endured an early-afternoon 8-1 defeat at Scranton Sunday, but turned it around by overcoming an early 3-0 deficit to take a 6-5 win in the nightcap. Paired with their Friday-night win, the River Hawks took the season series from the Royals, maintaining the second spot in the Landmark Conference standings with one game still to play against Wilkes.
GAME ONE: SCRANTON 8, SUSQUEHANNA 1
- Susquehanna got to work early as leadoff man Michael Girardi opened with a single. The other Michael G. in the lineup, Michael Gagliardi, brought him home with a sacrifice fly.
- Starting pitcher Ben Gearhart had a fairly productive first three innings, allowing Scranton just one hit. But things began to take a turn when the Royals lineup came through the second time.
- Scranton loaded the bases and after they tied the game Conor Campbell hit a two-RBI triple to lead 3-1.
- Gearhart rebounded to set the Royals down in order in the fifth before Tommy Kowaliwskyj took over to start the sixth. That same inning Scranton loaded the bases to get another run to come across to lead 4-1.
- Susquehanna was held to one hit between the fourth and eighth innings as Scranton starter John DeStefano struck out nine River Hawks in seven innings of work.
- Relievers Ryan Boyd and Logan Mason came on to pitch the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to nail down the win for Scranton.
- In the eighth the Royals produced four more runs to put the game out of reach. They loaded the bases again and produced back-to-back walks to make it 6-1. A hit by pitch and another walk ensued to make the score 8-1.
- Five of the River Hawks' eight hits took place in the first three innings. Dylan Heyduk and CJ Orrego each had two hits, while Andrew Haussman had the team's only multi-base hit with a double.
- The Royals needed just seven hits to get the win, but their patience at the plate perhaps shined through the most with nine bases on balls and another three hit by pitches.
GAME TWO: SUSQUEHANNA 6, SCRANTON 5
- The Royals attempted to seize control of the series by jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Two runs took place in the first inning with a pair of RBI doubles, followed by another run in the second as Conor Campbell produced a ribbie single.
- Susquehanna looked to regain control by cutting into Scranton's lead to 3-2 as it was their turn to load the bases en route to a pair of runs. Both were drawn in on bases-loaded walks from Paul Daly and Lucas Zachesky.
- Scranton countered by getting one run back in the bottom half with another bases-loaded walk, this time by Jimmy Lundari.
- The third also saw the end of Susquehanna starter Evan Applegate's day as coach Denny Bowers turned the ball over to Luke Goodwin. He righted the ship by shutting out Scranton between the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
- This set the stage for the River Hawks to get some runs, beginning in the fifth as designated hitter Paul Daly tied the game with a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.
- Third baseman Jaden Buechler, after spending the last few games out of the lineup, perhaps made his case to be back in for the playoffs as he delivered the go-ahead, two-RBI single.
- The Royals would not go away quietly, getting one run back in the bottom of the seventh.
- With the tying run at third Coach Bowers turned to Max Lipton to get the final out. He did so by forcing Vincent Napolitano to ground out to short.
- The River Hawks looked to add an insurance run in the ninth when Michael Gagliardi singled with Lincoln Hower on second, but the latter was tagged out at the plate.
- Closer Austin Ozarowski was called on to get the final three outs of the series. He struck out his first batter and got his next two batters to fly out and ground out for his fifth save of the season.
- Susquehanna totaled 10 hits as Gagliardi batted 3-for-5 to lead the team. Michael Girardi and Jaden Buechler each had two hits, while Dylan Heyduk recorded one double with one walk.
- The River Hawks also flipped the script from the first game Sunday by reaching base via five walks and five hit by pitches.
- The reliever Goodwin picked up the win as he struck out seven in 4.2 innings of work, allowing just two hits and two walks.
UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS
- Susquehanna stands in second place in the Landmark Conference standings with a 15-8 league mark and 24-14 overall. They are three games behind first-place Wilkes, who they are set to play for the final game of their series. Date to be determined.
- The Landmark Tournament will begin with the play-in game for the fourth and fifth seeds on Wednesday, May 6. The bulk of the tournament will take place the weekend of May 8-10 at Penn Medicine Park in Lancaster, Pa., home of the Stormers.
