Box Score Neumann 20-14 in a wild PAC game Wednesday afternoon. Eight Eastern hitters had hits, and a ninth,
Kenny Long reached base five times on walks. The win levels the Eagle's record in the PAC as they prepare for their weekend series with Arcadia.
The Eagles jumped to a quick lead when
Mike Santello led off the game with a single and stole the first of his four bases on the day. Long then coaxed a walk, and
Davis Murray, who is hitting .435 for the year, beat out a bunt to create a bases loaded situation with no one out.
Andrew Reynolds knocked in his first of four RBI for the day with a fielders choice.
Sean Ciletti knocked in a run on a single to right. After
John Montague walked to load the bases, freshman
Dan Wilson cracked a 2RBI single to put the Eagles up 5-0 at the end of the first half inning of play.
Neumann, who entered the day at 2-0 in the PAC, bounced back with three in the bottom of the first and four more in the bottom of the second. The Eagles went down quietly in the top of the second and third, and the Knights built their lead to 11-5 with three runs in the bottom half of the third.
Eastern changed the game for good with a two out rally in the 4th. Long started the comeback with a walk, and after Murray reached on an error and Reynolds walked, Ciletti also reached on an error with Long and Murray scoring. By the time the inning ended, the Eagles had closed the gap to 11-10.
Nolan Potter, who came on in relief in the third, set the Knights down in order in the fourth, and Eastern came back to the plate in the top of the fifth down just one. The Eagles again rallied with two down, as
Andrew Reynolds knocked a clean single and then scored to tie the game on a Ciletti double. Montague delivered the big blow of the game with his first home run of the year.
The Eagles led 13-11 going into the bottom of the fifth, and Potter again faced just three batters in the fifth. Potter got some help from his defense as Montague threw out a runner trying to steal to end the inning.
The Eagles Stretched their lead in the top of the sixth when
Matt Powell, who collected three hits on the day, singled to lead off and stole second. Santello advanced Powell to third with a single. Powell and Santello executed a double steal to push the Eastern lead to 14-11. Long again walked, and he and Santello advanced on a long fly by Murray. Reynolds knocked in both runners with a double.
The Knights finally got to Potter with two runs in the sixth, but the durable right-hander went four and a third innings and gave up just three runs (two earned) on a day where offense was in abundance. After the Eagles went quietly in the seventh,
Ben Jones came in to relieve Potter with two gone in the seventh. Jones closed out the seventh, and allowed just a pair of runs in the ninth to pick up the save.
Montague and Reynolds each knocked in four runs on the afternoon, and Ciletti and Powell each knocked in three. Ciletti currently leads the Eagles with 15 RBI on the year.
The Eagles, who are now 1-1 in PAC play, have a three game set this weekend with Arcadia, and bounce back with a Sunday double-header against Neumann.
Game Box Score
