BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end as the Greyhounds fell to Susquehanna University, 12-4, Saturday in the opening contest of a Landmark Conference series at Gillespie Field.
The Hounds, who hosted their Second Annual Strikeout Prostate Cancer Blue Out game, are now 9-13 overall and 4-4 in Landmark Conference action. The Blue and Grey had nine hits Saturday with each starter collecting one including doubles by sophomore designated hitter Mike Mittl, junior first baseman Joey Maker and sophomore shortstop Matt Stalter. Mittl and Maker also had RBIs along with freshman left fielder Carmine Palummo and sophomore right fielder Austin Markowski.
Junior John Wiedmayer made the start on the mound for Moravian, and allowed six runs, five earned, on four hits and five walks to go with a pair of strikeouts in 1.2 innings. The Blue and Grey used four other pitchers with sophomore Kevin Shields tossing 4.1 innings with a strikeout. Junior Nicholas Mazzella had one strikeout in 1.1 innings while junior Dan Morrin had one strikeout in an inning of action. Sophomore Billy Roethke tossed the final 0.2 innings for the Greyhounds.
The River Hawks scored four times in the top of the first inning and added two runs in each of the second and third innings to build an 8-0 lead.
Moravian would get onto the scoreboard in the home half of the third frame when sophomore catcher Andrew Koenig led off with a single and eventually raced home on an RBI sacrifice fly by Mittl. The Greyhounds added a run in the fifth inning when freshman second baseman Ian Csencsits started with a single to right center and scored on an RBI single by Palummo down the left field line.
The Hounds scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to pull within 8-4. Senior center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello led off with a single, and sophomore third baseman Evan Kulig followed with a single. Markowski would chase Gaetaniello home with an RBI sacrifice fly while Kulig scored on an RBI double off of Maker's bat.
Susquehanna would add two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth frame to finish the scoring.
The Greyhounds and the River Hawks will return to Gillespie Field on Sunday, April 9 to compete in a Landmark Conference doubleheader beginning at 12:30 p.m.
