Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Thamoda Haputhanthri
The Susquehanna Baseball team completed a sweep in their conference double header against Drew University on Saturday at Harold Bollinger Field.
The River Hawks used high scoring in both games to outplay the Rangers, taking game one 10-6 and finishing it off with a 13-7 victory in the nightcap. Two dominant offensive showings saw the River Hawks stretch their win streak to now five games.
The series opener would spring into life in the fourth inning, which would see sophomore Dylan Gallagher open the scoring for Drew with a home run to left field to take an early 1-0 lead.
Susquehanna would answer right back in a big way, as junior Andrew Hausmann would step up with the bases loaded and knock the ball deep to center field and over the fence for a grand slam.
Junior CJ Orrego would increase the advantage to four runs with a RBi single up the middle to give the River Hawks a now 5-1 lead.
Junior Paul Daly would join the party in the bottom of the fifth, as he clobbered a pitch over the fence for a two-run home run.
The lead would extend to seven in the very next inning when Lincoln Hower hit a sac-fly out to center field, which allowed Orrego to score.
What would follow would be a determinant performance from Drew which caused some concern for the River Hawks. First-year Anthony Tetto would score off a wild pitch from sophomore Josh Domaracki to score the Ranger’s second of the ball game.
Drew continued Zach Maxwell would hit a RBI single to dime to left field to make it three straight runs for the Rangers.
Domaracki’s day was done after the seventh inning, and he would be replaced by Robert Kramer, who allowed two runs before making it out of the eighth inning.
With the score at 8-6, Susquehanna hoped to stretch their lead with insurance runs in the bottom half of the frame, which is exactly what they did.
On a 2-1 pitch, sophomore Luke Goodwin would send a high fly ball over the left field fence to stretch Susquehanna’s lead to three runs.
Senior and leadoff man Michael Girardi continued the trend for Susquehanna with a RBI single up the middle to notch another insurance run for Susquehanna.
With the River Hawks up 10-6, they would not allow any runs in the top of the ninth to close out the game one win.
The star on the mound was Domaracki for the River Hawks, who pitched in the first seven innings and allowed nine hits, four runs while striking out seven batters. Domaracki’s performance earned him the win, bringing his record to 4-0.
The second game would not start in favor of starting pitcher Ben Gearhart for SU, as Drew would score off a wild pitch. Zach Maxwell would double the frustration for the River Hawks as he would score off a balk later in the first inning.
Susquehanna’s response would come in the bottom of the third, as Daly would hit a RBI single to center field. Three more runs would follow in the third inning, as Lucas Zachesky and Goodwin would each draw in a run by way of hit and sac ground out, with Zachesky later scoring off a wild pitch.
Three straight runs in the bottom of the third gave the River Hawks the 3-2 advantage. Susquehanna would continue that in the next inning as Lincoln Hower would score off a wild pitch, and Girardi would score off a sac fly from junior Michael Gagliardi.
The lead would be increased to 9-2, as after a RBI single from senior Dylan Heyduk and later in the inning, Gagliardi would hit a two RBI double to left field.
In similar fashion, Drew would cut a sizable lead to two runs late in the seventh on in the game as they attempted to force a comeback. The second game would mirror the series opener, as Susquehanna would show Drew up in the bottom of the eight innings with four runs.
Girardi would score on a defensive error from the Rangers, while Gagliard would follow suit and hit an RBI single to left field.
Derek Asche later scored the 12th run of the game later in the inning on another error from drew, with Zachesky finishing the job with an RBI single.
After a shaky start, Gearhart would be the resounding takeaway for Coach Bowers.
Gearhart would bring his season record to 5-0, pitching in 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, 5 runs striking out two batters. Over the course of the two games, Susquehanna would record 23 runs, 25 hits and 20 RBIs.
“I’m grateful to be hitting good, and always looking to get guys in,” Gagliardi said.
“When you allow teams to come back, games get tight again and the pressure mounts a little bit. We were able to settle in offensively, middle to late in both these games and be able to put up some runs late, credit to our guys,” Bowers added.
Susquehanna and Drew will meet again on Sunday, April 12th at noon as Susquehanna looks to complete the weekend sweep on the Rangers on Senior Day.