By Andrew Snyder, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna baseball team continued its eight-game winning streak that began on Saturday, April 6 with a three-game sweep on the road over Drew (16-13, 6-6) on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14 winning by scores of 5–4, 8–3, and 16–10.
The River Hawk offense was potent throughout the series, rattling off 42 combined hits and averaging nearly 10 runs per game.
Susquehanna tallied 11 extra base hits during the series.
Junior infielder Chris Corrado came up big, hitting an RBI single in the 10th inning in game one, while also going 3-4 with three RBIs in game three. Sophomore outfielder Steve Lorenz had at least two hits in each game.
Also contributing at the plate for Susquehanna was junior outfielder Justin Miller. Miller went 4-5 in game three and hit over .500 for the series. Sophomore catcher Pete Yarem was solid throughout the series, collecting five hits and five RBIs.
On the mound, junior pitcher Bobby Grigas dominated out of the bullpen in game one, pitching 4.1 innings of one-run ball while compiling five punch-outs to seal a River Hawk victory. Junior pitcher Tyson Thrush was a workhorse in game two, throwing a complete game and allowing only one earned run en route to a game two win.
Susquehanna fell behind early 2–0 after the first inning of game one. The River Hawks tallied one run in the second inning on an RBI groundout from senior infielder Craig Roumes.
The River Hawk offense came alive in the fourth inning. Susquehanna loaded the bases with no outs and was able to squeeze out three runs in the inning to take a 4–2 lead.
Drew struck back with a solo home run in the sixth inning and tied the game in the seventh with an RBI single off the bat of senior infielder Zach Lipshitz.
Both sides remained silent on offense heading into extra innings. With two outs in the top of the tenth inning, Miller laced a single to left. Corrado followed that up with a double down the left-field line, giving Susquehanna a 5–4 lead. Grigas sealed the win, sitting Drew down one-twothree in the bottom of the inning.
Game two began as a pitcher’s duel, as the score remained 1–0 in favor of the Rangers leading into the seventh inning. Susquehanna found their stride on offense in the seventh inning, putting up two runs on the back of Roumes, who hit an RBI double to center field. The eighth inning proved even more fruitful for the River Hawks, who notched six runs in the inning. Yarem and junior catcher Alec Rank both had two RBI-doubles in the frame.
Drew was unable to respond to the eighth inning outburst, and Susquehanna walked away with an 8-3 victory.
During game three, Susquehanna remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when RBI singles from Yarem, Corrado, and Miller gave the River Hawks a 3–2 lead.
Drew struck back with a five-run explosion in the bottom of the fourth, but Susquehanna responded with two more runs in the fifth. The score stood at 7–6 in favor of the Rangers after five.
After a three-run homer off the bat of Drew’s junior infielder Matthew Lange in the sixth inning, the Rangers retook the lead 10–7.
Susquehanna would not be denied a sweep, however. After nearly evening the score in the seventh inning, junior infielder Alex Burman launched a homer to right to tie the game. The River Hawks tacked on two more in the inning to take a 12–10 lead.
The late-game heroics continued for Susquehanna, as they knocked in four more in the top of the ninth to stretch their lead to six. Drew was once again unable to come back, and Susquehanna took home a 16–10 victory completing the sweep.
Susquehanna returns to action at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 19 when the team will host Juniata for a three-game series at home.