Baseball upended by Drew

MADISON, N.J. – Juniata College was held to just one run on five hits as the Eagles dropped a 9-1 loss to Drew University, completing a three-game Landmark Conference baseball action on Sunday at Ranger Stadium.

Juniata (6-9, 2-4 Landmark) posted its only run in the top of the second inning, when Ian Thorne (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) reached on a leadoff single and promptly stole second base. Thorne then reached third on a passed ball, and scorer two batters later on Thomas Eck's (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) ground out to second base. 

Drew (5-8, 3-3 Landmark) tied the game win one run in the bottom of the second, and took a 4-1 lead on Pete Turchol's three-run home run in the third inning. 

The Rangers had a four-run inning in the fourth, keyed by Tom Murray's two-run single. Murray later crossed on a wild pitch. 

Juniata starter John Love (Loysburg, Pa./Northern Bedford) struck out three Rangers over his three-and-two-thirds innings on the mound, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits. Matt Regan (Downingtown, Pa./Devon Prep) fanned four Drew batters while allowing one hit in his three-and-a-third innings of relief work, while Nathan Burkey (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) finished out the ninth inning for the Eagles. 

Drew's Zach Bircks scattered four hits and recorded seven strikeouts over seven innings of work.

Juniata returns to action on Tuesday, March 24, when the Eagles face Stevenson University. 

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