ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Baseball honored nine seniors before today's season-ending doubleheader against King's. The Eagles rode a strong pitching performance from Josh Freed to an 8-4 win in the opener, and the Monarchs claimed a 7-3 win in the nightcap. Andrew Boykin recorded his 100th career hit and homered in both games.

The Eagles jumped to a 5-0 lead with a big second inning in the opener. Boykin delivered the big hit of the inning with a two-out home run to right field. The two-run blast was the 100th hit of Boykin's career. The senior slugger had only 71 at bats in his first two seasons. He hit .359 with nine home runs, 18 doubles, and 66 RBI's  in the last two years.

"Andrew is a great example of hard work for our younger players," Head Coach Jed Morris said of Boykin. "He put in tons of time in the weight room and with his swing to become a very dangerous offensive player."

Brady DiGiacomo and Angelo Kelly each had RBI singles, and Joseph De Los Santos drove in the other run with a ground out. With the five-run lead, Freed continued move through the King's lineup. He got some help from his defense when Jake Bunjo delivered a sliding catch in center with a runner on and one out in the fourth.

The Eagles added two insurance runs after Freed worked around a walk in the fifth. Shane Albertson started the rally with a walk and a stolen base. He scored on a single up the middle by Zach Belansek. Balensek moved to third on on a single to right by Bunjo. Kelly delivered another RBI single to drive int he seventh Eastern run of the game.

Kyle Lupas finally broke up Freed's no-hit bid with a one-out single to left in the sixth inning. After a run scored on a throwing error, Sean Padden doubled down the left filed line to score another run and put runners on second and third with only one out.

Morris went to the bullpen to bring on another senior. Tyler Sterkenburg walked the first hitter he faced, but escaped the jam with a soft line drive to right field and a nice play to snare a line drive back through the middle, but the Monarchs had reduced the Eastern led to 7-4. The Eagles tacked on a run in the sixth after Timmy Gorton reached on an error and advanced on a pair of wild pitches. He scored on an Albertson sacrifice fly to the gap in left center.

Kyle Daddario came on to pitch a scoreless seventh to close out the game. The plan for the game, according to Morris was to use Freed for a short outing, and then to use multiple pitchers out of the bullpen. Freed forced Morris to change that plan a little when he took a no-hitter into the sixth.

Joe Clancy started the second game. It was the first start of the year for the senior right-hander. The Monarchs scored an unearned run in the first inning. Clancy worked out of the jam with a bases-loaded fly out to Bunjo in center.  

The Eagles put two runners on in both the second and third innings, but Monarch starter Billy Neill struck out Eastern hitters to end both rallies. Clancy faced six total batters in the second and third innings.

Courtney Penson came on for his first appearance of 2017 to start the fourth. The senior right-hander had dealt with injury throughout the year. He gave up a pair of infield hits and left with one out and the bases loaded. Matt Bunjo struck out the first hitter he faced, but Christian Pack doubled to right center to stretch the Monarch lead to 4-0.

The Eagles (14-21, 9-12 MAC Freedom) scratched out a single run on a ground ball to the left side by  Kelly. Albertson scored on the play as Laboy was caught off the bag at  second. King's scored two runs off Tommy Strazza in a steady rain in the fifth inning.

Boykin struck again with a home run to center in the bottom of the fifth. With the home run, Boykin is tied for third in single-season home runs with six and alone in fourth in career home runs with 10. His 38 RBI's this year is the third highest total in program history. His mark trails only Scott Renauro's 43 RBI's in 2010 and Timmy Gorton's 44 this season. He finishes his career with 75 RBI's.

Roniel Diaz retired a pair of hitters int he sixth before running into trouble. Andrew Behnam entered with two on and two out. The sophomore right-hander induced a ground ball to the right side and beat the batter to the bag to retire the side.

Ryan Kehr pitched the seventh inning. The senior standout allowed a run on a pair of hits. Kehr started and went deep in the game on Thursday. The coaching staff had hoped to use him in relief today in a high leverage situation, but when King's won the opener on a walk-off single int he ninth, Kehr's appearance was more a celebration of the senior's accomplishment. Kehr finishes third in career innings pitched with 184.1, first with a 3.61 career ERA, fifth with 119 strikeouts, and second with 13 wins. 

Boykin and Gorton singled to start the seventh, but the rally failed to materialize as Monarch reliever John Wickiser retired the final three Eastern hitters to complete his save.

Morris had great things to say about the skill and leadership of the class.

In addition to the career accomplishments on Kehr and Boykin, Kelly made a serious dent in Eastern's record books. With three hits, a run scored, and three RBI's today, he finishes with 197 career hits, 132 runs scored, and 83 RBI's. He is sixth in career RBI's and is the program leader in hits and runs. He has a career .364 batting average. This year, Kelly hit .475 with a 1.110 OPS in league games.

The seniors will be missed, but Morris believes that their legacy will continue with the younger players and that the future is bright for the Eagles. Gorton leads a talented cast of position players. The junior catcher has 107 RBI's in 110 career games. He is a .372 career hitter and has 159 career hits. He had a career-best .603 slugging percentage this year. Albertson's first tow season's at the plate stack up well against anyone in program history not named Gorton. Twenty of his 74 hits have gone for extra bases. 

This year's freshmen class saw several players earn significant playing time and perform well. Morris said that he hopes the younger players will follow the lead of the senior class and continue to work on their games in the offseason.