BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team closed out the 2012 regular season with a 10-0 win over Drew University in Landmark Conference action Sunday at Gillespie Field.
The Greyhounds would take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Senior catcher Austin Rock led off with a walk, and freshman outfielder Matt Hanson walked with an out. Freshman outfielder Justin Pilchman singled to load the bases for Moravian, and after the second out of the inning, freshman first baseman Joe DiSarno reached on a dropped fly ball that allowed Rock, Hanson and Pilchman to score.s
Moravian would extend its lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Freshman shortstop Colin Case started the inning with a double, and he scored on an RBI single by Rock. Freshman third baseman Ryan Luke followed with an RBI double to left centerfield to bring in Rock from first base.
The Greyhounds pushed the lead to 7-0 with two more runs in the bottom of fourth. Sophomore second baseman Kyle Spence led off with a double, and he came across the plate on an RBI grounder from sophomore outfielder Joey Connell. DiSarno scored the other run in the inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by senior designated hitter Kevin O'Keefe.
Moravian scored twice in the bottom of the fifth for a 9-0 advantage. Hanson reached on a throwing error to start the inning, and he scored on an RBI triple from Pilchman. Pilchman then crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
The Greyhounds scored their final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when Luke scored on a Drew error with the bases loaded. Earlier in the inning, senior pitcher Brendan Close came in as a pinch hitter for the first at-bat of his collegiate career. Close singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw.
Moravian had a 14-8 advantage in hits in the game with Case going three-for-four. Pilchman was two-for four for the Greyhounds while Rock and sophomore catcher Joel Middleton were each two-for-two. Senior designated hitter Tom Murray was two-for-four to lead Drew.
On the mound, sophomore Thomas Mariano improved to 5-2 for Moravian, allowing four hits and striking out five batters in five innings. Sophomore Robert Solano gave up three hits in three innings of action while sophomore Chris Soltys pitched the final inning with a hit and a strikeout.
Drew used four total pitchers in the game with sophomore Ken Myers taking the loss with seven runs, just four earned, on seven hits and three walks to go with two strikeouts in three innings of action.
Moravian will return to action on Saturday, May 5 as the top seed and host of the 2012 Landmark Conference Tournament at Gillespie Field. The Greyhounds will take on Drew, which earned the fourth seed with The Catholic University's win over The University of Scranton Sunday, at 11:00 a.m. Third seed Catholic will battle second seed the United States Merchant Marine Academy at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The tournament runs through Monday, May 7 with the champion earning an aut0matic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament.
