SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team locked up the top seed and will host the 2014 Landmark Conference Tournament after sweeping The University of Scranton, 7-3 and 12-1, Saturday afternoon at Connell Park.
The Greyhounds, ranked 29th in last week's American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball poll, are now 26-6 after winning their fifth straight game, and the Hounds are 14-3 in Landmark action. Moravian will be hosting the Landmark Tournament for the fourth time after being the top seed in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as well. The Greyhounds' 2010 squad is the only team in the six-year history of the Landmark Tournament to capture the conference title as the top seed.
"Our kids worked hard to go out and play every game," stated Head Coach Paul Engelhardt. "The conference is stronger than ever, and our guys worked for the right to host, and have our school, community, family and friends there to watch."
As they have most of the season, the Greyhounds scored in the opening frame of both games. Moravian has plated at least one run in the first inning 18 times this season including five straight games, and the Hounds are 15-3 in those contests.
In the opener with the Royals, Moravian jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Junior right fielder Matt Hanson drove in the first run with an RBI single while senior center fielder Joseph Connell knocked in a pair of runs on a two-RBI single with the bases loaded.
Scranton answered with a run in the bottom half of the first, and the Royals knotted the score at 3-3 with two more runs in the home half of the third inning.
The Greyhounds broke the tie by scoring four times in the top of the seventh. Hanson drove in the winning run with an RBI single down the left field line while sophomore first baseman Charles Savite picked up an RBI after reaching on an error with the bases loaded. Connell drove in two more runs with his second two-RBI single of the game.
The Royals had a 10-7 edge in hits in the opener. Connell was 2-for-4 for the Hounds while Hanson and freshman left fielder Anthony Gaetaniello were both 2-for-3.
Senior Robert Solano improved to 4-0 on the mound this season for the Greyhounds, allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out two batters in six innings of action. Senior Chris Soltys tossed the final inning for the Hounds with one hit.
Moravian took a 1-0 first inning lead in the second game when Hanson singled with two outs, stole second base and was chased home on an RBI single by Savite.
The Greyhounds pushed their lead to 4-0 with three runs in the top half of the second frame. Gaetaniello connected on an RBI double to start the scoring, and he was followed by senior shortstop Colin Case, who had an RBI single. Hanson drove in the final run of the inning with an RBI single as well.
Scranton plated its lone run of the game in the bottom half of the second to cut the lead to 4-1.
Moravian tallied three more runs in the top of the fourth for a 7-1 lead after Hanson connected on a three-run homer to right field, his team-leading second home run of the season.
The Greyhounds finished off the scoring with five runs in the top of the sixth inning. Savite started things off with an RBI single before senior catcher Matthew Gutkes connected on a three-RBI double down the right field line to clear the bases. Junior second baseman Alex Longernecker followed with an RBI double, also down the right field line, to score Gutkes.
Moravian had a 20-5 advantage in hits in the second game as Hanson went 4-for-5. Gaetaniello, Savite and Connell were all 3-for-4 in the contest while junior third baseman Ryan Luke was 2-for-4.
Freshman Nicolas Ampietro improved to 4-2 on the mound for the Greyhounds, allowing an unearned run on five hits to go with three strikeouts in the complete game victory.
The Hounds and the Royals will complete their three-game Landmark series on Monday, April 21 with a nine-inning single game at Connell Park beginning at 3:00 p.m.
