Late Rally Falls Short as Juniata Drops Extra-Inning Battle, Doubleheader to Wilkes

Huntingdon, Pa. – The Juniata baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Wilkes on Saturday, falling 8-7 in extra innings in game one and 16-7 in game two at Langdon-Goodale Field.

In game one, Juniata struck first as Zach Johnston delivered an RBI double in the opening inning. The Eagles stayed within striking distance before Jackson Cunnane tied the game in the sixth with a two-run home run. Wilkes responded to build a 7-4 lead, but Juniata rallied late, scoring once in the eighth on an RBI double from Matthew Koehler and plating two runs in the ninth to tie the game, taking advantage of an error and a wild pitch.

Despite the comeback, Wilkes pushed across the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to secure the 8-7 win. Cunnane led the offense with two RBI, while Connor Blough recorded two hits and Jace Irvin scored three runs.

In game two, Wilkes used a big second inning to jump ahead early and never looked back. Juniata responded with two runs in the second inning and added another in the third on an RBI single from David Beard. The Eagles continued to chip away with runs in the fifth, highlighted by RBI hits from Matthew Koehler and Ethan Pfeffer, but Wilkes extended its lead with multiple scoring bursts, including a three-run sixth and a three-run eighth.

Pfeffer drove in two runs, while Koehler, Beard, and Ayden Thelen each added an RBI. Juniata totaled 15 hits in the game, with multiple players recording multi-hit performances.

Juniata will look to bounce back tomorrow for game three of the series.