PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. --- The Moravian College baseball team closed out its trip to the Snowbird Classic with an 11-4 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University Tuesday evening at South County Regional Park in Port Charlotte, Florida.
The Greyhounds, who finish the trip at 3-1 with a pair of wins over Top 25 teams, pounded out 15 hits in the contest against the Battling Bishops. Senior shortstop Colin Case was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, two runs and a homer while senior third baseman Ryan Luke was 3-for-5. Sophomore center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored while junior catcher Mike Roethke was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Junior left fielder Cameron Leon also had two hits in the game.
Freshman Nicholas Mazzella earned the win on the mound for the Blue & Grey in his first collegiate start, along three runs on five hits and three walks to go with four strikeouts in six innings of action. Freshmen Clay Weidemoyer, Adam Howard and Ryan Kahn all saw action on the mound in the contest with Howard striking out all four batters he faces.
Ohio Wesleyan jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Hounds answered with six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take control of the game. Leon led off with a single and scored on an RBI single by Roethke. After junior second baseman Alex Bull doubled, Gaetaniello gave Moravian the lead for good with a two-RBI single. Case added an RBI single while junior first baseman Charles Savite hit an RBI ground out and Luke put down an RBI drag bunt.
The Battling Bishops cut the Greyhounds' advantage to 6-3 with a run on the top of the third.
Moravian tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth when Gaetaniello led off with a single and Case followed with a two-run homer to left field, his first round tripper of the season and the third of his career.
The Hounds scored two more times in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double from Roethke and an RBI single by Case.
After Ohio Wesleyan scored in the top of the seventh, Moravian closed out the scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning when senior right fielder Matt Hanson came across the plate on a double play ball with the bases loaded.
The Greyhounds are schedule to return to action on Saturday, March 14 when the squad begins its 2015 Landmark Conference season with a doubleheader at The Catholic University of America starting at 1:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
