By Kelsey Rogers, Asst. living and arts editor
The River Hawks had a nonconference victory over nationally ranked opponent Shenandoah University 4-1 on Thursday in Winchester, Virginia.
Susquehanna contributed 10 hits and added a sixth victory against nationally ranked opponent. Shenandoah was ranked 14th in DIII baseball. The River Hawks previously defeated nationally ranked opponents Wooster and North Central in Florida and Keystone and Catholic University in conference play, whom they defeated twice.
Freshman outfielder Ryan Casey scored an unearned run off a single from sophomore infielder Craig Roumes in the second, giving Susquehanna a 1-0 lead.
Shenandoah would answer back in the bottom of the third with a double from Henry Delavergne and an RBI from Jamie Naill, tying the score.
Freshman infielder Jimmy Loftus secured the lead in the sixth inning after reaching on an infielding error and stealing second. Loftus advanced to third on a wild pitch and reached home plate as freshman infielder Luke Tuttle hit a double to left field.
Loftus answered again with a strong performance in the eighth with a two-out solo home run. Tuttle advanced to second base in the ninth off of a sacrifice bunt from sophomore infielder Anthony Dombrowski. A fly ball from Roumes and a single from sophomore outfielder Justin Miller led Tuttle home to secure the River Hawks victory with a score of 4-1.
Susquehanna displayed a dominant pitching performance from senior John Cooley who pitched for seven innings and allowed a run on four hits with only one walk. Sophomore Bobby Grigas and freshman Will Careys secured the final two innings of the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth from Grigas and another 1-2-3 from Careys in the ninth.
The River Hawks are back in action April 28 and 29 in a three-game series against Landmark Conference foe Drew in a three game series.
Drew currently sits at 15-16 on the year and 5-7 in conference play. They are currently riding a seven-game losing streak into Saturday.
Despite the recent string of losses though, the team has some notable wins on the year, including two wins over nationally-ranked and Landmark Conference-foe Catholic.
The Rangers also have some strong hitters on their team in the heart of their order. Zach Lipshitz currently has a .403 batting average this season.
Game time for the River Hawks is at 12:30 on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.
