By Kelsey Rogers, Asst. living and arts editor
The Susquehanna baseball team went 2-1 in a three game weekend series against Landmark Conference-foe Catholic on March 30 and 31 in Selinsgrove.
The team secured their first landmark conference win of the season in a 11-0 shutout before falling in the second game 8-3 and then securing the third win with a score of 7-5.
The first game showed a dominant pitching performance by sophomore pitcher Bobby Grigas, who allowed five hits over eight innings and junior pitcher Andrew Russell ended the game with a scoreless final inning.
“Our pitching is getting stronger and the offense has come alive,” Grigas said. “We are going to be a factor in the conference.”
After scoring one run in the bottom of the second inning, the River Hawks began their run by completing eight runs. Senior shortstop Tom Giaimo hit an infield single to lead freshman left fielder Ryan Casey home and advanced the River Hawks to 3-0.
The lead extended to 6-0 after sophomore right fielder Justin Miller brought sophomore Craig Roumes home on an RBI single and junior Ben Burman had a two RBI single.
Freshman catcher Peter Yarem hit an RBI single to score senior first baseman Cole Luzins, who was intentionally walked. Junior center fielder Nick Berger made a second return at bat with an RBI double, leading Burman home and Yarem to third base.
Casey capped off the bottom of the fourth with an RBI ground out for a 9-0 River Hawk lead.
An RBI single from Giaimo led sophomore second baseman Anthony Dombrowski home in the fifth inning while Giaimo scored himself in the bottom of the seventh. Russell threw a scoreless inning in the ninth as the River Hawks obtained their first conference victory.
“We knew we couldn’t come out flat because Catholic is a wellrounded team,” Miller said. “We came out with a lot of energy and executed overall as a team. It was a huge team win that we needed to kick off our conference play.”
The second matchup resulted in the River Hawks losing 8-3. They were limited to four hits with Miller having two hits and two runs batted in and a double from Roumes.
The Cardinals scored a single run in the first and second innings and the River Hawks responded with a run in the bottom of the third. Catholic extended their lead in the fifth inning by scoring three runs and obtained an 8-3 victory.
The final game of the weekend remained scoreless until Catholic scored a solo home run in the top of the fourth. Susquehanna responded with four runs.
Berger drew a walk and Roumes hit a single. Freshman left fielder Jimmy Loftus then reached base on an error to load the bases for the River Hawks. A walk from Dombrowski forced a walk home and a two RBI single from Luzins allowed for Susquehanna to take the lead.
Catholic quickly regained the lead with one run in the fifth inning followed by three runs in the sixth inning. Susquehanna would respond with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Miller hit a home run that led himself and Giaimo to score and advance to a 6-5 lead. Roumes scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh to bring the River Hawks to a 7-5 victory.
The River Hawks take on Moravian on April 7 and 8 at Bollinger Field as part of another three- game series. The games on April 7 begin at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. The game on April 8 begins at 12 p.m.
