UNION, N.J. --- The Moravian College baseball team jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and went on to post a 7-4 victory over host Kean (N.J.) in non-conference action Wednesday.
The Greyhounds, now 3-1 on the season, had 13 hits in the game with junior catcher Chase Rogers going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs. sophomore right fielder Carmine Palummo was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while junior third baseman Evan Kulig and junior left fielder Mike Mittl were each 2-for-5 with one RBI. The Hounds had four doubles in the contest with Kulig, Mittl and Rogers each having one along with senior first baseman Logan Welles.
The Blue and Grey used four pitchers with junior Brendon Caraway making his first career start, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk to go with one strikeout in three innings of action. Senior Nicholas Mazzella earned his second win of the spring with two innings of work that included just one hit and one strikeout. Kulig tossed two innings with a run on two hits to go with one strikeout while junior Rhett Jacoby picked up his first save of the season after allowing a walk and striking out two batters over the final two innings.
Moravian took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sophomore second baseman Ian Csencsits connected on a one-out single and junior center fielder Austin Markowski followed with a walk. Kulig ripped an RBI double down the right field ling to score Csencsits, and both Markowski and Kulig raced home on a throwing error that allowed Welles to reach base. Mittl finished off the inning with an RBI double down the right field line as Welles raced home.
The Hounds extended the lead to 5-0 with another run in the top of the second frame as Palummo drew a walk, stole second base and scored as Markowski reached on another error by the Cougars.
Kean would answer with a run in the bottom half of the second inning and two more in the third inning to cut Moravian's lead to 5-3.
The Blue and Grey added a run in the top of the fourth inning to extend the advantage to 6-3. Rogers led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch after moving to third on a single by Palummo.
Moravian scored in the top of the sixth to push its lead to 7-3. Rogers led off with a double and would race around to score on an RBI single through the left side by Palummo. Kean answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame to make it 7-4.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action with their first game in the Snowbird Classic in Florida as the Hounds will play Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) College on Sunday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m. at North Charlotte Regional Park.
