twelve times in the fifth inning to erase an 8-3 deficit in a 24-8 win in the nightcap. Joel Rios went 7-9 with four runs and five RBIs in the doubleheader.

Zach Clouser pitched six solid innings to pick up the win in the opener. The senior right-hander scattered seven hits over his first start of the year. Matt Martin pitched a scoreless seventh to close out the game.

The Eagles scored all the runs they needed in the two run first. Scott Renauro walked to open the game and advanced to third on on a Dan Garcia single. He then scored on a balk. Bill Brim rapped a solid single to drive in Renauro. Eastern then tacked on another run in the second when André Butler scored on a Rios double. 

Eastern put the game out of reach with a five run third inning. Brim and Ernie Stiegler walked to start the inning and Devon Ziegenfuss hit a hot shot of the third baseman's collar bone to load the bases. Jim Crowley picked up an RBI with another walk, and Butler hit a deep fly to center to turn the batting order over and drive in Stiegler. Renauro delivered an RBI single and Rios then drove in the final two runs of the inning with a sharp single to left center.

The Patriots scored their run on a fourth inning triple and a routine ground ball to second. Clouser worked out of jams in the fifth and sixth before handing the ball off to Martin with a 10-1 lead.

Game two started poorly for the home Eagles. Every ball the visitors hit in the opening seemed to find a hole, and they built a 5-0 lead with just one out in the second inning. Matt Martin was able to get out of the second with a double play ball. 

Greg DeSarro singled in two in a three-run third, but the Patriots got the three back in the top of the fourth before Kyle Kurdewan entered to get the final out of the inning. The first year right-hander pitched an efficient fifth leading up to Eastern's big half inning. He picked up his fourth win of the year.

The Eagles looked like they had another rally going in the fourth, but Scott Renauro hit a screaming line drive into a double play on a hit and run play. Head Coach Matt Midkiff said of the second game, "Everything we tried in the start of th egame seemed to backfire. We hit into a pair of double plays when we put guys in motion, and we hit balls hard that they made plays to catch. As we got into their bull pen, the hits started to drop in and we became even more disciplined in our at bats."

The patience paid off in the fifth as the Eagles sent 16 men to the plate. Mike McNulty delivered a big blow with a towering pinch-hit double to drive in two and close the gap to 8-7.  Matt Horican also had a two RBI double a couple batters later. The 12 run inning is the biggest inning of the year for the Eagles. 

Stiegler pitched a scoreless sixth for the Eagles. When the Eastern bats came up in the sixth, the only question that remained was whether Renauro would extend his hitting streak. The sophomore shortstop had hit the ball hard twice and had taken a disciplined walk in the Eagles' big fifth, but he had yet to hit safely to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. 

After Jesse Taylor walked, Renauro came to the plate and worked the count. He was unable to get out of the way of an inside fastball, and it looked as though the streak would stop at 17. The Eagles, however,  continued to take disciplined at bats, and the line-up slowly turned over. When Butler wore an inside pitch to drive in a run with just one out, the remaining crowd knew that Renauro would get another at bat. He delivered a towering shot to left field for a triple. Earlier in the day, the left fielder might have been able to make a play, but with the ball directly in the setting sun, Renauro was able to extend his streak.

Over the eighteen game stretch, he has had just five single hit games. For the year, Eastern's lead off hitter is hitting .481 with 15 extra base hits. He has hit safely in all but one game this year.

Ben Jones faced three batters in the top of the seventh to end the game. The Eagles (13-10, 6-6) have now won more games this Spring  than they have in any season since 2001. In 2008, Eastern baseball won 12 games.

Midkiff and his squad will look to continue the momentum with another non-league doubleheader at Lancaster Bible tomorrow. They return to the Freedom Conference playoff race on Friday afternoon with a home game against FDU-Florham.

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Photo gallery to be Posted tomorrow