Photos by Michael Lipscomb
By Hayden Lange
The Susquehanna baseball team concluded their season series against Juniata with a strong 12-6 win at Harold Bollinger Field on Tuesday afternoon.
The Riverhawks got things started in the first inning with three runs to take the early advantage.
Senior Michael Girardi scored on a passed ball, followed senior Dylan Heyduk scoring on a sac-fly from junior Paul Daly. Sophomore Lucas Zachesky finished it off with an RBI single later in the inning.
Both teams went on a standstill through the second and third innings. Freshman Pitcher Dane Rue started for the Riverhawks on the mound and held Juniata hitless through the first three innings, but Juniata answered back in the fourth with four runs to jump in front.
Susquehanna would take back those runs in a big way in the bottom of the inning with six runs of their own to reclaim the lead at 9-4.
Sophomore Luke Goodwin was walked with bases loaded to draw in Junior Andrew Haussman for the game tying run, followed by a three RBI triple from junior CJ Orrego to give Susquehanna back the lead 7-4.
The River Hawks added two more runs to their lead after a wild pitch from Juniata followed by a Girardi RBI double to left field.
In the bottom of the fifth, Daly would continue the consecutive run streak for the River Hawks with his sixth homerun of the year, sending one over the right field fence to give his team a 10-4 lead.
From there, Susquehanna continued with their great defense, allowing only two more runs while gaining two runs offensively to close out the game 12-6.
On the day there were several impressive performances, one of them including Daly who went 1-2 with a home run to go along with two runs.
Girardi went 2-3 on the day with a double, an RBI and a walk, while Junior Catcher Cj Orrego also had a nice showing with a 2-3 day along with three RBIs and a run.
“I saw the ball still bounce when I was going to second, so there was no way I was listening to a stop sign,” Orrego said.
First-year Tommy Kowaliwskyj was credited as the winning pitcher for the River Hawks as he finished only allowing two hits and one run in the two innings he pitched.
With the win, the River Hawks are now on a seven-game winning streak, the highest for the River Hawks this season.
With a record of 20-11 and 11-5 in the Landmark conference, Susquehanna is tied for second with Scranton in the Landmark standings with the playoffs looming.
They hope to keep the streak alive as they head to Elizabethtown for another Landmark Conference series.
“We’re playing really good team ball, getting at-bats to the next guy,” said Orrego.
With a big finish to the season coming up with a series against Elizabethtown and Scranton, Susquehanna needs to keep playing the way they have been.
“Consistency, just stay where we are, nothing too big,” said Orrego on the final stretch of the regular season.
The River Hawks will carry their win-streak into Elizabethtown, PA for a weekend series with the Elizabethtown Blue Jays. A conference double header series will kick off the weekend on Saturday, April 18 starting at noon.