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Greyhounds Sweep Albion (Mich.) in Doubleheader at RussMatt Invitational

Sophomore Chris Medei follows through on a pitch versus Franklin (Ind.) College during the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Photo by Christine Fox
Sophomore Chris Medei follows through on a pitch versus Franklin (Ind.) College during the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Photo by Christine Fox

AUBURNDALE, Fla. --- The Moravian University baseball squad swept a doubleheader versus Albion (Mich.) College, 6-1 and 12-11, in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational at the Lake Myrtle Stadium in Auburndale, Florida Thursday.

How It Happened – Game #1

  • The Greyhounds got onto the scoreboard first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior third baseman Paul Croyle connected on a one-out triple before scoring on an RBI single from sophomore right fielder Nick Henry for the 1-0 edge
  • The Blue & Grey pushed the advantage to 3-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as junior first baseman Cole Cherkas drew a one-out walk and scored on a two-run homer to right field by senior catcher Derek Holmes, his second home run of the season and seventh of his career
  • The Britons scored their lone run of the opener in the top of the sixth inning to make it 3-1
  • Moravian pushed three runs across the plate in the home half of the sixth frame to set the final score. Junior left fielder David Olsakowski singled with two outs, and sophomore center fielder Patrick Benolken drew a walk. Senior shortstop Mason Fisher then connected on an RBI double down the left field line to bring in Olsakowski, and Cherkas followed with an RBI single to right field as Benolken scored. Fisher raced home with the final run on a wild pitch
  • Freshman Ross Huffman started on the mound, and he had seven strikeouts in five innings of action for his first career win. Senior Ethan Weber tossed the final two innings with one strikeout 

How It Happened – Game #2

  • Albion scored once in each the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead
  • The Hounds answered with eight runs in the top of the fourth frame for an 8-2 advantage. Fisher led off with a single and raced home from second on an RBI single from Cherkas. Holmes followed with a double to move Cherkas to third while senior second baseman Chris Pow connected on an RBI single to push Cherkas across the plate. Henry followed with an RBI single that brought in Holmes, while both Pow and Henry scored on a two-RBI double by Croyle. Fisher came up again and hit an RBI single to chase Croyle across the plate while Cherkas had an RBI single that scored Olsakowski and Holmes drew a bases loaded walk that pushed Benolken home
  • The Britons plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-4
  • Moravian countered with four more runs in the top of the sixth inning for a 12-4 edge. Olsakowski led off with a walk and Benolken singled before two outs we made. Holmes ripped a two-RBI triple to score Olsakowski and Benolken while Pow connected on an RBI double that brought in Holmes. Henry hit an RBI single to score Pow with the Hounds final run of the contest
  • Albion scored six times in the bottom of the sixth and once in the bottom of the seventh to pull within a run at 12-11 before the Greyhounds were able to get the final out
  • Senior Andrew Connallon started on the mound for the Blue & Grey and tossed three innings while senior Kenny Kunzman pitched 1.2 innings for his first win of the year. Freshman Stefano Garofalo threw a third of an inning while junior Rony Minier pitched an inning. Sophomore Chris Medei earned his first collegiate save with one strikeout in the final inning

Inside the Numbers

  • Moravian had 26 hits in the doubleheader led by Fisher, who was 5-for-8 with two RBIs, two runs and a double
  • Holmes was one of seven Greyhounds to record three hits on the day as he added five RBIs, three runs, a double, a triple and a home run
  • Benolken had three hits and three runs while Cherkas added three hits, three RBIs and two runs. Croyle contributed three hits, two RBIs, a run, a double and a triple while Henry had three hits, three RBIs and a run
  • Olsakowski also had three hits and three runs while Pow posted three hits, two RBIs, two runs and a double

Up Next for the Greyhounds

  • Friday, March 3 vs. Wartburg (Iowa) College (DH) at RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Auburndale, Fla., 10:00 a.m.
  • Tuesday, March 7 at New Jersey City University, 3:00 p.m.