March 29, 2025
Moravian Splits Doubleheader at Juniata to Begin Landmark Conference Series
HUNTINGDON, Pa. --- The Moravian University baseball squad split a doubleheader at Juniata College Saturday, rallying for an 8-7 win in the opener before falling 17-13 in the nightcap to begin a Landmark Conference series.
HUNTINGDON, Pa. --- The Moravian University baseball squad split a doubleheader at Juniata College Saturday, rallying for an 8-7 win in the opener before falling 17-13 in the nightcap to begin a Landmark Conference series.
How It Happened – Game #1
- The Hounds jumped out a to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the opener as graduate student Cole Cherkas connected on a solo home run, his fourth homer of the season and 12th of his career
- The Eagles countered with two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 edge
- The Blue & Grey tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third frame as freshman center fielder Luke Keitsock led off with a solo homer, the first home run of his career
- Juniata answered with three runs in the bottom of the third to move back in front, 5-2
- Moravian scored twice in the top of the fourth to pull within 5-4. Freshman third baseman Troy Rabosky was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI double by freshman catcher Ronnie Werkheiser. Werkheiser eventually scored when sophomore right fielder Matt Westcott was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded
- The Greyhounds tied the game again at 5-5 in the top of the fifth inning when sophomore first baseman Wyatt Harrar led off with his team-leading sixth homer of the spring, and the eighth home run of his career
- Moravian moved ahead 6-5 with a run in the top of the seventh frame as Cherkas led off with a walk and raced home on an RBI double by freshman second baseman Emmit Budick
- Juniata tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth
- The Hounds answered in the top of the ninth with a pair of runs to take an 8-6 edge. Cherkas drew another walk with sophomore Domenic Venini coming into run. Harrar reached on an error, and both Venini and Harrar raced home on an infield RBI single by Rabosky with a throwing error on the play
- The Eagles plated one run in the bottom of the ninth before the Blue & Grey finished off the win
- Moravian used six pitchers with junior Ross Huffman starting and tossing an inning. Freshman Cam Elicier had three strikeouts in 1.2 innings while sophomore Ben Cogar earned the win with three strikeouts with 3.1 innings of action. Sophomore Wes Griffith tossed 1.2 innings while freshman Tyler Bonelli pitched a third of an inning. Senior Matt Snyder recorded his first save of the season and second of his career with one strikeout in the final inning
How It Happened – Game #2
- The Hounds jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the second game. Cherkas and freshman shortstop David Vozzo each walked before Rabosky connected on a three-run homer, his fourth home run of the season. Graduate student Connor Wengryn and Budick followed with singles before Keitsock connected on a two-RBI double
- Juniata countered with six runs in the bottom of the first to take a 6-5 edge
- The Eagles scored six more runs in the third, one in the fourth and a run in the sixth to stretch the advantage to 14-5
- Moravian pushed five runs home in the top of the seventh to pull within 14-10. Vozzo led off with a double before junior first baseman Sean Superka connected on a two-run homer, his first home run of the year and second of his career. Rabosky and Werkheiser both singled and raced home on a ball hit by Budick. Graduate student left fielder David Olsakowski added an RBI groundout to bring in Budick
- The Greyhounds added three more runs in the top of the eighth to make it 14-13. Senior pinch hitter Nick Henry drew a walk and Vozzo hit a single before Werkheiser ripped a three-run homer, his third home run of the spring
- The Eagles answered with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to finish the scoring
- The Blue & Grey used eight pitchers in the contest as freshman Jack Steinel started and had a strikeout in a third of an inning. Sophomore Ryan Grill tossed two innings while junior Nick Leonard pitched a third of an inning. Sophomore Caden Ward recorded two strikeouts in two innings while sophomore Nate McBride had a strikeout in an inning of action. Freshman EJ Youngling tossed an inning while Bonelli pitched a third of an inning with a strikeout and senior Chris Medei was on the mound for the final two-thirds of an inning
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian collected 24 hits over the two games with Werkheiser going 3-for-7 with three runs, four RBIs, a homer and a double
- Keitsock had three hits with three RBIs, a run, two doubles and a homer while Olsakowski contributed three hits with an RBI and a double
- Rabosky recorded three hits, three runs, four RBIs and a homer while Vozzo added three hits, three runs and a double
- Wengryn was 2-for-2 with a run while Budick had two hits, two runs, a double and an RBI
- Westcott registered two hits while Superka was 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a run and a homer
- Cherkas posted a hit, a homer, an RBI and three runs while Harrar had a hit, an RBI, a homer and two runs
- Henry and Venini each scored one run
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Sunday, March 30 at Juniata College, 10:00 a.m.
- Tuesday, April 1 vs. Drew University, 3:30 p.m.
