Baseball Splits Doubleheader With Drew

HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata baseball team ended its series with Drew with a pair of games on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles took Game 1 3-1 with the Rangers claiming Game 2, 12-4.

Chris Fulton (West Chester, PA/Unionville) went the distance in the first game as he scattered four hits across seven innings, one unearned run, one walk, and struck out six. Drew's only run came in the top of the third inning. With runners at second and third, a passed ball brought the Rangers' Mike Di Donato home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth. After Alex Matoushek (Scranton, PA/West Scranton), struck out swinging, Jacob Terry (Denver, PA/Cocalico) was hit by a pitch. Chris Schreder (Litiz, PA/Lancaster Catholic) then singled and Andre Pendleton (Penn Valley, PA/Harriton) walked to load the bases. Anthony Lombardo (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) singled to left field to score Schreder and Terry and put JC ahead 2-1. Brady Cotler (Chadds Ford, PA/Salesianum) walked to load the bases. Following a Drew pitching change, Zach Tobash (Macungie, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) popped out to the left fielder and Pendleton tagged up to increase the Juniata lead to 3-1. Joe Klusman's (Wilmington, DE/St. Elizabeth) lineout ended the inning.

Fulton ran into some trouble in the Drew portion of the seventh inning. Bobby Miskura and Anthony Feltre both singled. Mike Miraglia sacrificed to the catcher whick moved runners to second and third. Fulton put out any hopes of a Drew comeback with a strike out followed by a groundout to secure the Juniata victory.

Lombardo finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Pendleton went 1-for-2 with a run scored.

Jesse Beeler (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) started the second game and was roughed up early on. He surrendered five runs in the first inning as Drew took a 5-0 lead.  Beeler lasted five innings and gave up nine hits, eight runs, (three earned), two walks, and struck out one.

The Rangers added to their lead with a three-run third inning to go ahead 8-0. Juniata plated two runs in the bottom half on Schreder's RBI double and steal of home by Terry.

The Eagles got another run across in the fifth inning on a Schreder RBI single to make it 8-3.  It was still a five-run game, 9-4, going into the top of the seventh when Drew tacked on three more runs to go ahead 12-4. Juniata got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but were held scoreless as the Rangers walked away with the victory.

Cotler was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Schreder finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

The Eagles (6-9, 2-7 Landmark) head on road next weekend for a three-game series with Elizabethtown. The doubleheader will be Friday at 1 pm and 3:30 pm. Saturday's game starts at 12 pm.