HAMPDEN SYDNEY, Va. --- Junior first baseman Joey Maker and sophomore right fielder Mike Mittl each connected on two-run homers as the Moravian College baseball team picked up its first win of the season with a 12-4 victory over host Hampden-Sydney College on the second day of the Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament Saturday.
The Hounds, who are now 1-1 on the season, pounded out 18 hits in the victory with Maker going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and Mittl going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base. Sophomore left fielder Austin Markowski and freshman left fielder Carmine Palummo were both 2-for-2 with Palummo stealing a pair of bases while sophomore third baseman Evan Kulig had a 2-for-4 game with three runs scored. Senior centerfielder Anthony Gaetaniello and sophomore shortstop Matt Stalter both had 2-for-5 games with Gaetaniello scoring twice and adding a stolen base.
Sophomore Rhett Jacoby earned the victory on the mound for the Blue and Grey as he allowed three runs on seven hits to go with five strikeouts in five innings of action. Senior Ian Carbone tossed the final four innings to earn his first save of the spring as he gave up an unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.
Hampden-Sydney scored a run on the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Moravian would move ahead, 4-1, with a four-run fourth inning. Freshman second baseman Ian Csencsits led off the frame with a double and scored bunt single by Markowski. Kulig chased Mittl home with an RBI double; however, Markowski was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base. Maker would follow with a two-run homer to finish the inning.
The Greyhounds tacked on two runs in the top of the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Gaetaniello led off with a single and came home on Mittl's two-run homer after an out.
Hampden-Sydney would get the two runs back in the bottom of the fifth before Moravian scored a run on the top of the sixth on a pinch hit sacrifice fly by junior Nicolas Ampietro. Hampden-Sydney scored its final run in the bottom half of the sixth frame to cut the Blue and Grey's advantage to 7-4.
Moravian plated a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI sacrifice fly by Mittl as Gaettaniello scored for the 99th time in his career.
The Greyhounds finished off the scoring with four runs in the top of the ninth frame. Sophomore Andrew Koenig connected on a pinch-hit RBI double as Mittl crossed the plate before Maker ripped a two-RBI single with the bases loaded that scored Koenig and Palummo. Stalter drive in the final run of the game with an RBI single as Kulig raced home.
Moravian is scheduled to close out its trip to the Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament on Sunday, February 26 when the squad battles Stevenson (Md.) University at 11:00 a.m.
