HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Moravian College baseball team finished the three-game sweep of Landmark Conference foe Juniata College after a 27-5 victory Monday afternoon. Senior third baseman Gregg Steinman extended his hitting streak to ten games after going 1-for-4 with a RBI.
The Eagles sophomore pitcher Ryan Morrison would give up a single to sophomore second baseman Daniel Seitzinger in the top of the first, but he would leave the inning unscathed.
Freshman pitcher Chris Lansberry would get the nod for Moravian. Sophomore second baseman Brad Medellin would get a single to center field for Juniata. Senior first baseman Russell Gray followed with a single through the left side. Both runners would advance a base on a balk. Lansberry would strike out the next batter of the inning for the second out, but then give up a double to freshman designated hitter Cody Krepps as Juniata would go up 2-0.
Moravian answered back in the top of the second with a lead-off single from Steinman. Freshman outfielder Matt Hanson then walked, and both runners would be sacrificed over a base. Sophomore outfielder Harrison Fonteix would walk and sophomore outfielder Joseph Connell then singled to left field to score Steinman. Seitzinger then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Hanson and knot the game at two.
Lansberry then gave up two hits in the bottom of the second, but would get out of the inning after a pick off and two fly outs.
Moravian would add four more runs in the third after senior shortstop Dave Zubia walked to start the inning. Classmate Kevin O'Keefe followed with a RBI triple to center field. Senior designated hitter Austin Rock then singled to shortstop and advanced to second on an error. Hanson followed with a single to score Rock. Senior catcher Blake Shortall then walked. Both runners then committed a double-steal to move up a base, and Fonteix would ground out to score Hanson as the Greyhounds would go up 6-2.
Lansberry then forced a ground, and then a double-play to get out of the inning.
Seitzinger would work his way around the bases in the fourth to make the score 7-2, Moravian after the top of the fourth.
Lansberry added a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth to keep the score at 7-2.
Fonteix would get a single in the fifth, and then steal second. Connell and Seitzinger then hit back-to-back singles to right center. Zubia followed with a double through the right side, and O'Keefe added a single to right field. Rock then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the final run of the inning as Moravian would take an 11-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth.
Lansberry gave up a lead-off single in the bottom half of the fifth, but got out of the inning off a fly out and a double-play ball.
The Greyhounds would go onto add 16 more runs in the later innings while Juniata added three runs to make the score 27-5, Moravian, by games end.
. Lansberry picked up his third win of the season after going five innings while striking out one and giving up two runs. Connell went 3-for-6 with two RBIs while Seitzinger went 4-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Zubia had two RBIs and two runs while going 2-for-3. O'Keefe went 2-for-5 with two RBIs while Rock had two RBIs. Hanson went 5-for-6 with five runs scored and three RBIs. Fonteix went 2-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs while sophomore catcher Matthew Gutkes went 3-for-3 with a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. Freshman first baseman Joe DiSarno went 2-for-2 with two runs scored while freshman shortstop Colin Case went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Freshman outfielder Justin Pilchman had two hits and a RBI while sophomore designated hitter Joel Middleton had one hit and a run. Freshman third baseman Ryan Luke went 1-for-3 with a run and a RBI while Shortall scored one run.
Morrison took the loss for the Eagles after giving up seven runs in three innings of work. Junior catcher Cole Walters went 2-for-2 with a run scored while sophomore shortstop Joe Sforza went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Krepps went 1-for-3 senior outfielder Matt Fritz went 2-for-3.
The Greyhounds would tie the single game RBI record at 25 while falling just short of the single game runs and hits record.
Moravian returns to action tomorrow, March 27th as they host nationally-ranked #20 Misericordia University. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at Gillispie Field.
