KINGS POINT, N.Y. --- The Moravian College baseball team received strong pitching performances from freshman Rhett Jacoby and sophomore Ryan Kahn as the Greyhounds defeated host the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 2-1 and 5-0, to open a Landmark Conference weekend series Saturday.
The two wins give the Hounds a 20-19 overall record, the eighth straight 20-win season for the program, and a 13-7 slate in Landmark Conference action.
Jacoby scattered two hits and did not allow a walk, as he gave up an unearned run in the first inning. Jacoby also recorded six strikeouts to improve his season total to 55, the eighth most in a single season in school history, and he is now 7-2 on the season with his sixth complete game of the year. Jacoby is tied for fourth in the Moravian record books with seven wins in a single campaign.
Moravian had seven hits in the opener with freshman center fielder Mike Mittl going 2-for-4.
The Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Mittl scored on an RBI single by freshman left fielder Austin Markowski. After USMMA tied the game in the bottom half of the first, Moravian would move back in front in the top of the fourth inning when senior catcher Mike Roethke had an RBI single to score senior third baseman Alex Bull. That would be enough for Jacoby, who retired the last 10 batters he faced including two by strikeout.
Kahn posted his third straight win and second consecutive shutout in the second game as he evened his season record at 3-3. Kahn scattered three hits and two walks while registering a career high nine strikeouts.
Moravian had six hits in the second game with Bull going 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, his second streak of at least 17 games this season, and Bull has reached base safely in all 39 contests this spring.
The Greyhounds gave Kahn all the offense he needed with a three-run fourth inning. Freshman designated hitter Chase Rogers drove in the first run with an RBI sacrifice fly. Sophomore first baseman Logan Welles connected on an RBI single, and freshman second baseman Tim Heard followed with another RBI single.
The Hounds tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth when senior right fielder Cameron Leon connected on a two-run homer to left field, his fifth homer of the season to tie Mittl, Markowski and senior first baseman Charles Savite for the team lead.
Moravian and USMMA are slated to finish their three-game Landmark Conference series with a single game on Sunday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. If the Greyhounds win and Elizabethtown College loses to Susquehanna University, then Moravian will host a Landmark Conference Semifinal series at Gillespie Field on May 7-8 against Elizabethtown. If the Greyhounds lose Sunday or Elizabethtown wins, then Moravian will be on the road for the semifinals.
