ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- After falling 10-6 in the opener, Eastern University Baseball rode a complete-game outing from Ernie Stiegler to a 13-1 win in game two to split the home doubleheader with Manhattanville (14-16, 8-10 Freedom). The Eagles pounded out 17 hits in the nightcap to move back into a tie for fourth with Valiants and keep their play-off hopes alive.

Manhattanville scored a run in the top of the first against Stiegler on a single, a wild pitch, and another single. The Eagles grabbed two back in the bottom of the first as Scott Renauro singled and Dave Prager hit a double that bounced over the center field fence. Greg DeSarro walked and Kristian Cortizo singled to left to plate Renauro. Devon Ziegenfuss hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Prager.

The Eagles stretched the lead to 6-1 with four runs in the second. Renauro delivered the big blow of the inning with a three-run homer that cleared the left field fence by 25 feet. His second home run of the year is the 11th of his career and puts him in a tie for second on the Eastern career list. DeSarro then doubled down the left field line and scored on another Cortizo single. Cortizo, Renauro, and André Butler were honored, along with pitchers John Taylor and Matt Martin, to celebrate senior day prior to game one. The three senior hitters combined for eight hits and six RBIs in game two.

The Eagles looked to have another rally going in the third when Brendan Spall walked and Dillon Schwartzer singled, but Butler hit into a triple play to end the inning. With both runners going, Butler hit a screaming line drive right at Manhattanville second baseman Kevin Brady. All that was left for Brady was to figure out which base to throw to first. While he might have been able to follow Schwartzer to second and step on the bag for an unassisted triple play, he instead threw to first, and the relay back to second beat Spall by 20 feet.

"That's a really tough break," Head Coach Matt Midkiff said after the game, "with that kind of motion, you expect the second baseman to either be covering second for the steal or first for the bunt. He was in the middle and it worked out for them."

Stiegler continued to work efficiently to hold the lead. The junior right-hander allowed some hits, but he only walked two batters and benefited from some very solid defense behind him. Ziegenfuss made diving catches to end the second and third innings, and Spall started a double play with a sharp grab of a line drive in the fifth.

The Eagles plated six more runs in the sixth. Butler dropped a flare just inside the right field line to start the inning. Renauro then became one of the few hitters to record a three-run homer and a sacrifice bunt in the same game. the strategy paid dividends as Prager pulled a single to right to drive in Butler.

"When I gave him the sign," Midkiff said of Renauro, "He looked at me to make sure he had it right, but he understands that we need to keep playing baseball the whole way. Against a team that hits like they do, that run is important."

DeSarro was hit by a pitch and he and Prager advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. After Cortizo drew the intentional pass, Ziegenfuss drove in a pair with a ringing double down the left field line. Mark Royer then singled to right-center to drive in another two runs. Schwartzer picked up his third hit of the game on a ball through the left side to drive in the final run of the game. Butler recorded the last hit of the inning on a double that landed within a few feet of where his single landed nearly twenty-five minutes before.

Stiegler allowed a pair of singles in the seventh, but he helped himself with a solid over-the-shoulder grab and got a nice catch at the fence by Royer.

The Valiants jumped to a 7-0 lead off game 1 starter Brandon Kenish, but the Eagles chipped away at the deficit throughout the game. Ben Melendez came on with two-out in the second. He allowed a pair of inherited runners to score on a flare just inside the right field line, and then proceeded to give his team a chance to get back in the game. The sophomore pitched effectively through the sixth before giving up a three-run double to Chris Nardozzi in the seventh.

The Eagles grabbed four runs in the bottom of the third. Prager had an RBI double and DeSarro knocked in two with a single.  DeSarro, who is hitting .438 on the year, moved into third on the Eastern single-season hits list with his 3-for-7 day at the plate. He has 49 hits, Prager and Butler are also within sight of the top five with 43 hits apiece.

The Eagles scored a single tally in the fourth on a Prager RBI single. They were a little unlucky not to pick up another run as Prager was running on the pitch and DeSarro hit a ground-rule double down the line with two outs. Spall hit an RBI double to right center to drive in a run in the fifth, but Butler's fly ball to center was caught at the fence.

Nardozzi's double in the seventh gave the Valiants a four-run cushion that proved to be too much.

The split leaves the two-teams tied for the fourth and final play-off spot. While Delaware Valley could still conceivably catch both teams, Eastern's formula is fairly simple. The Eagles have to win one more game next week than Manhattanville. The two teams will be taking on the top two teams in the Freedom. Eastern plays Misericordia and the Valiants play DeSales.  

Friday's game against Misericordia will be available for viewing on Eagle Vision.