BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team stole a school record 10 bases versus Neumann University in non-conference action at Gillespie Field Tuesday afternoon; however, the Greyhounds ended up falling to the Knights, 9-8.
The Hounds surpassed the previous record of nine stolen bases in the bottom of the ninth inning when junior third baseman Alex Bull stole second for his fourth steal of the season. Moravian had six different players record a stolen base in the contest with sophomore center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello stealing three bases to increase his season mark to 18, which is tied for eighth in a single season. Senior right fielder Matt Hanson and senior left fielder Justin Pilchman each had two stolen bases as Hanson increased his school career record to 59 and is now tied for sixth in a single season with 19. Pilchman has nine stolen bases in 2015 as the Greyhounds have swiped 72 bases as a team. Senior shortstop Colin Case and junior first baseman Charles Savite each had one steal on Tuesday as Case stole his ninth of the season and Savite picked up his first stolen base of the spring.
Moravian also had 10 hits in the game with Gaetaniello going 3-for-4. Senior designated hitter Ryan Luke was 2-for-5 with a home run, his first of the season and the first since his sophomore campaign.
Neumann scored a run in the top of the first but the Greyhounds countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning for a 2-1 advantage. Hanson drew a walk with two outs, stole second and came around to score on an error on a ground ball hit by Savite. Later in the inning, Savite raced home on an RBI infield single deep in the hole at second base by Bull.
The Knights would retake the lead with three runs in the top of the second, but once again, Moravian answered with three runs of its own to move back in front, 5-4. Gaetaniello led off with an infield single and would score on an RBI infield single by Case. After Luke singled on a bunt and a passed ball, Hanson connected on an RBI ground out to score Case. Savite also hit into an RBI ground out as Luke scored.
Neumann took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the third inning, and the Knights added two more runs in the top of the sixth for a 9-5 advantage.
The Blue & Grey cut the deficit to 9-7 in the bottom half of the sixth. Gaetaniello led off with an infield single, and after an out, Luke connected on a 2-2 pitch for his two-run homer down the left field line, his third career home run.
Moravian would get within a run in the bottom of the seventh frame when Pilchman walked, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error before Bull connected on an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to score Pilchman.
The Greyhounds put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth when Bull reached on an error and stole second base to break the record. However, Moravian, which left nine runners on base including seven in scoring position, left Bull at second base to end the game.
Moravian used four pitchers in the contest with freshman John Wiedmayer starting and striking out two batters. Junior Tommy Natale-Drown tossed 3.1 innings with a strikeout while junior Hunter Guard pitched 2.2 innings. Freshman Adam Howard tossed the final inning of the game with one strikeout.
The Hounds are slated to return to action on Wednesday, April 23 when the squad hosts Alvernia University in a non-conference game with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
