On a day when Eastern Baseball won their 20th game in a season for the fist time in program history, the mood was fairly glum as the Eastern players left their home field. Though the Eagles earned a split with Wilkes by taking the first game 10-4, the level of expectation in the program has grown so that the bitter taste of a 12-6 loss in the second game was the only flavor the Eastern coaches and players could discern.

"We would have needed help to make it [the Freedom Conference Playoffs] anyway, " said Eastern Head Coach Matt Midkiff after the loss, "but we just didn't play very well in a game that we had to win. In historical perspective, this was a good weekend, but where we are now, we feel like we let one get away."

The Eagles (20-13, 9-9) are not mathematically eliminated from post-season consideration, but they will need to sweep the three game set with a road doubleheader against Misericordia and have King's sweep Manhattanville in what is likely to be an evenly matched series. 

Nick Moeltner did not have his best stuff in the opener, but he was able to make big pitches to get out of jams. The first year right-hander gave up three runs in the third. He did well to limit the damage as he recorded one of his five strikeouts to end the inning. The Eastern defense also helped their pitcher with a pair of double plays.

The Eastern offense came to life with five runs in response to the big inning from the Colonels. André Butler led off the innings with a single. Scott Renauro could not get out of the way of an inside pitch and Joel Rios reached on an error while trying to move the two runners over. After Renauro scored on a Dan Garcia ground ball, Ramon Reyes delivered the big blow of the inning with a three-run homer.

Butler and Renauro led off the fourth with walks, and both runners scored to build the Eastern lead to 7-3 after four. Though he walked twice and was hit by a pitch, Renauro went hitless for just the third time all season in the opener.

The Eagles scored three more in the fifth. Kurt Kebaugh drove in the first insurance tally with a deep sacrifice fly, and Rios knocked in a pair with a sharp single. With the big lead, Moeltner allowed single runs in the fifth and the seventh and held on for the win.

Box Score

The second game was messy. The Eastern pitchers combined to walk twelve batters and gave up another twelve hits. The Eastern defense made three errors and failed to make big plays to help out their pitchers, and the Eastern hitters did not have great at bats against Ryan Fetterman, the Colonels' top starter. 

Wilkes scored three times in each of the first three innings to put the home squad into a 9-2 hole. Things fell apart so quickly, that starting designated hitter Greg Lukasik did not get an at bat before he was replaced for an infielder to have Joel Rios pitch.

While Midkiff's squad was able to put together ten hits, they were only able to draw one walk, and the big break never came. Joel Rios drove in his 27th run of the year with a single in the fifth. The RBI was the 24th in the last twelve games  for the Eastern third baseman.

Renauro delivered a two-run homer in the sixth, but the deficit was too great.

The Eagles will have a week to study for finals before hosting Misericordia in a single game on Friday and closing out the Freedom regular season slate in Dallas on May 1st.

Box Score