PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. --- The Moravian College baseball team dropped a pair of game on Friday in the squad's final day at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida, falling to Wheaton (Ill.) College, 6-5, and Bluffton (Ohio) University, 17-14.
The Greyhounds, 2-8 on the year, had 11 hits in the opener against Wheaton with sophomore third baseman Evan Kulig going 3-for-4. Junior first baseman Joey Maker and sophomore right fielder Mike Mittl were both 2-for-4 with Maker adding two RBIs and a double while senior center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello was 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, the 55th of his career, and two runs scored.
Sophomore Rhett Jacoby started on the mound and allowed two runs on four hits to go with seven strikeouts in five innings of action. Junior Dan Morrin tossed the next two innings with two runs on four hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts while junior Bryan Schoch had one strikeout in one inning.
Moravian jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Gaetaniello doubled with one out and raced home on an RBI single by Maker. The Greyhounds pushed the lead to 2-0 in the top half of the fifth frame as Gaetaniello hit a lead off single and crossed the plate on an RBI double by Maker.
Wheaton scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the contest at 2-2, and the Thunder plated two more runs in the home half of the sixth inning to take the lead.
Moravian had 16 hits in the second game against Bluffton with Maker going 3-for-4 with three RBI and Gaetaniello posting a 3-for-5 game with four runs scored as he moved into ninth all-time at Moravian with 164 hits and eighth in runs scored at 112. Freshman first baseman Ian Csencsits and sophomore second baseman Tim Heard were both 2-for-5 with Heard driving in two runs while Kulig had two hits and five RBIs including a grand slam in the game.
Senior Ian Carbone started on the mound against Bluffton for the Greyhounds and tossed 2.1 innings with 10 runs, just five earned, on eight hits and two walks to go with two strikeouts. Sophomore Billy Roethke tossed three innings with four runs on four hits, a walk and a strikeout while junior Nicholas Mazzella recorded three strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Kulig tossed the final two innings with three unearned runs on three hits and a walk to go with a pair of strikeouts.
Bluffton scored five runs in the top of the first inning before Moravian answered with five runs with two outs in the bottom half of the frame to tie the game. Kulig had an RBI single to drive in the first run while Heard, junior shortstop David Wodzsiz and sophomore catcher Stave Lazicki all had RBI singles in the inning.
Both teams scored two runs in the second inning as the scored was knotted at 7-7. Maker had an RBI single and Heard ripped an RBI double in the frame for the Blue and Grey.
Bluffton scored three times in the top of the third and once more in the top of the fourth to take an 11-7 lead. Moravian scored a run on the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Maker before Bluffton added three runs in the top of the sixth for a 14-8 edge. The Greyhounds plated a run in the bottom of the sixth on another RBI single by Maker.
Bluffton scored its final three runs in the top of the eighth inning. The Hounds answered with five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. After getting an unearned run on an error, Kulig emptied the bases with a grand slam, his first collegiate home run.
Moravian heads back north and is slated to play rival Muhlenberg College on Wednesday, March 15 in a non-conference game at Cedarcreek Field in Allentown beginning at 4:00 p.m.
