The Moravian College baseball team swept a Landmark Conference doubleheader from The United States Merchant Marine Academy Sunday afternoon at Gillespie Field, winning the first game, 7-1, and taking the second game, 8-5.
The Greyhounds have won 15 straight home games against Landmark Conference opponents, and Moravian swept its second conference of the season. The Greyhounds are also on a five-game winning streak overall.
In the opener, Moravian took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when junior shortstop Dave Zubia walked with two outs and scored on an RBI single from senior outfielder Jason Huber, pictured at right.
The Mariners tied the game in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from freshman second baseman Warren Hartmann.
The Greyhounds retook the lead with a run in the bottom half of the fourth when senior outfielder Mike Zubia singled and scored on an RBI single from junior catcher Austin Rock.
Moravian added five runs to its lead in the bottom of the fifth. Huber had an RBI single and scored on a passed ball while Mike Zubia and Rock each hit RBI singles. Senior third baseman Jon Baltz drove in the final run with an RBI ground out.
The Greyhounds had an 11-4 edge in hits in the first game with Rock going two-for-three with two RBIs. Mike Zubia was also two-for-three with two runs while junior designated hitter Gregg Steinman and freshman outfielder Joey Connell were both two-for-three. Huber was two-for-four with a pair of RBIs for Moravian.
Junior Thomas Fenyak improved to 2-2 on the mound for the Greyhounds, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts. Freshman Chris Soltys tossed the final inning with a hit and a strikeout.
The Mariners used three pitchers in the contest with junior Andy Martin taking the loss.
In the second game, the Greyhounds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Dave Zubia led off the game with a single and scored on an RBI sacrifice fly by Mike Zubia.
Moravian added two runs in the bottom of the second for a 3-0 advantage. Senior designated hitter Jacob Millen had an RBI double in the inning while Baltz had an RBI single.
The Greyhounds pushed their lead to 5-0 with two more runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Junior first baseman Kevin O'Keefe singled to start the inning and scored on a steal of home while Rock scored on an error.
Moravian pushed its lead to 8-0 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mike Zubia, pictured at right, doubled with one out and scored on a passed ball while Millen hit a two-run homer that scored junior catcher Blake Shortall, who had walked. The home run was Millen's first of the season.
USMMA scored twice in the top of the sixth to cut Moravian's lead to 8-2. Junior outfielder John Hubach scored on an error while freshman shortstop Daniel Collins had an RBI single.
The Mariners scored three times in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded when the game ended. Freshman first baseman Jake Martin and sophomore designated hitter Dustin Thomsen each had RBI singles while Hartmann hit an RBI grounder.
Both teams had seven hits in the game with Millen going two-for-three with three RBIs, two runs, a double and a homer for Moravian.
Freshman Jonathan Harasin earned his third win of the season on the mound for the Greyhounds, allowing a pair of unearned runs on four hits and a walk to go with six strikeouts. Sophomore Matt Cordes tossed a third of an inning for Moravian while freshman Robert Solano tossed two-thirds of an inning and earned his first save for entering the game with the potential tying run on-deck.
The Mariners also used three pitchers in the second game with freshman Timothy Arner taking the loss.
