Sophomore Matt Madigan puts the ball in play at Gillespie Field versus Juniata College.
Sophomore Matt Madigan puts the ball in play at Gillespie Field versus Juniata College.
March 26, 2022

Moravian Drops a Pair of Close Landmark Conference Games at Scranton

SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian University baseball squad dropped a pair of Landmark Conference games on the road at The University of Scranton, a 12-11 walk-off loss in game one and 6-5 loss in game two, on Saturday afternoon at Volpe Field.

Video Box Score Box Score

SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian University baseball squad dropped a pair of Landmark Conference games on the road at The University of Scranton, a 12-11 walk-off loss in game one and 6-5 loss in game two, on Saturday afternoon at Volpe Field.

How It Happened – Game 1

  • Junior second baseman Chris Pow got the Greyhounds on the board in the first frame with a double to left field that scored sophomore outfielder Matt Madigan to put the Blue and Grey up 1-0. Scranton then countered with two runs of their own into the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead
  • After a scoreless second inning, the Royals added three runs to extend their advantage to 5-1 after three innings
  • Madigan reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth that scored senior designated hitter Elias Engelhardt to cut the deficit to three runs
  • The Greyhounds then tallied two more in the top half of the fifth when sophomore left fielder David Olsakowski recorded an RBI on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded that brought Pow across the plate. Engelhardt then grounded out to first base and plated junior catcher Derek Holmes to bring the Hounds within a run, 5-4
  • Scranton tacked on three more runs in their half of the fifth inning, extending their advantage to 8-5 but Moravian was able to post a five-run sixth inning to take its first lead. Sophomore shortstop Mason Fisher singled up the middle to score Madigan, then Holmes drove in Fisher to bring the score to 8-6. Olsakowski followed with a two-RBI single to left-center field to tie the game and Madigan came back to the plate in the inning and plated senior right fielder Robert Roman to take the 9-8 edge
  • The Royals were able to score in the bottom of the sixth frame to tie the ball game once again
  • Senior first baseman Brett Moyer reached base on a fielder's choice, which he earned an RBI to put the Blue and Grey back in front 10-9 after seven innings
  • Fisher then had a sacrifice fly out to right field that brought Roman home for the Greyhounds' final run in the top of the eighth inning to increase their edge to 11-9
  • In the bottom of the ninth, Scranton scored a run on a single through the left side of the infield to cut the lead to just one run, 11-10. The Royals then walked it off with a two-run double to hand the Greyhounds a 12-11 loss
  • Sophomore David Ciaccio got the start on the mound for the Hounds and threw three innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, one walk and a strikeout. Senior Kevin Brandt was the first to enter in relief, throwing three innings with six hits, four earned runs, a strikeout and a walk followed by freshman Matt Snyder who threw 2.1 innings of work with three hits, three runs, two earned, with a strikeout and walked two batters. Junior Garrison Koch entered the game in the ninth to face just one batter

How It Happened – Game 2

  • Scranton struck first in game two with a pair of runs scored in the bottom of the first inning to jump out to a 2-0 edge
  • The Greyhounds were able to cut the lead in half, 2-1, off a Roman RBI single down that right-field line that plated sophomore designated hitter Cole Cherkas (Pittston, Pa./Pittston HS) from second base
  • The Royals added another run in the third frame on an error that extended the Scranton advantage to 3-1
  • Roman earned another RBI from a double down the left-field line to score Olsakowski and put the score at 3-2, but Scranton tacked on one more run in their half of the fourth inning to go back ahead by two runs, 4-2
  • After a scoreless fifth inning, the Royals added two more runs in the sixth to give Scranton a 6-2 edge
  • In the top of the seventh, the Hounds plated two runners with the first coming when Holmes grounded out to second to score Madigan followed by Moyer reaching base on a throwing error, which resulted in Fisher crossing the plate to bring Moravian within two runs, 6-4 after seven innings.
  • Moravian loaded the bases in the top of the ninth and freshman outfielder Nick Henry had an RBI single to score Fisher from third to bring the score to 6-5, but the Greyhounds would leave the bases full and fall to the Royals in game two
  • Senior Eddie Olsen got the start in game two, threw 5.1 innings and allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Junior Noah Ingalls entered in relief in the sixth inning and threw 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit and two walks with three strikeouts.

Inside the Numbers

  • The Greyhounds posted 32 hits on the day with 19 hits in game one and outhit the Royals 32-26. with 
  • Three different Hounds recorded four-hit performances on the day with Roman going 4-for-7 with a double, two RBIs, two walks and a run scored as Pow was 4-for-9 with three runs scored, an RBI and a double. Madigan was 4-for-10 on the afternoon while scoring three runs and plated two runners
  • Moravian had five record three hits in the doubleheader with Cherkas going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored and senior third baseman David Bertolotti going 3-for-8.
  • Holmes and Olsakowski both finished the day going 3-for-9, and they each drove in two RBIs and scored twice. Fisher went 3-for-10 and scored three runs and brought in two RBIs
  • Moyer recorded two hits, going 2-for-10, and drew a walk Engelhardt finished 1-for-3 to go with a run scored and an RBI

Up Next for the Greyhounds

  • Tuesday, March 29 vs. Muhlenberg College, 4:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 31 vs. Keystone College, 3:30 p.m.