ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Riding another stellar pitching performance from
Mickey Foytik, Eastern University Baseball split a doubleheader with the visiting Misericordia Cougars. Foytik went the distance in a 4-2 win to give the Eagles their first win over the Cougars since April of 2011.
How It Happened:
After Foytik worked through three scoreless innings, the Eagles broke through with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the third.
Luke Gruendl walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a
Kyle Daddario single.
Jordan Laboy moved both runners over with a well-executed sacrifice bunt.
Brady DiGiacomo drove in Gruendl with a long fly ball to center.
After
Britton Lawrence walked,
Liam Clarke poked a double down the left-field line to drive in both Daddario and Lawrence.
The Cougars (16-7, 7-2 MAC Freedom) scored a pair of runs before Foytik retired a hitter in the fourth, but the senior righthander got out of the inning with a double-play ball and a pop-up to the mound.
Brad Clemens doubled to left center to chase Misericordia starter Isaac Snyder. Daddario delivered a one-out single to put runners on the corners with one out. Laboy drove in the insurance run with a fly ball to right field.
The Cougars had doubles in both the fifth and sixth innings, but Foytik stranded both runners. He pitched a perfect seventh to earn his second win of the spring. He struck out three and walked one against the very patient Cougars.
The win snaps a 26-game skid in the series. The last time the Eagles beat the Cougars, they needed 11 innings to do it and
Scott Renauro was a junior shortstop. The Eagles scored four runs in the top of the 11th to win the series opener, 8-4, in a series that featured all three games at The Yard.
The Cougars clinched the season series with a 9-4 win in the opener. After Misericordia scored the first three runs, the Eagles manufactured a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to close the gap.
Nelson Ocasio pitched well through his first three innings but had to leave with a blister after one batter in the fourth. The Cougars scored four times in the inning to build a 7-2 edge. The Eagles put up single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Cougars matched those with single runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
Coach Renauro Says:
"Today was a big day for us. In the first game, we weren't very clean in the field, but we had a chance to see our hitters get to a good pitcher. Nelson settled in well and seemed to have better command until he lost some of his grip on the ball. We have been preaching clean baseball with walks and errors. Although we still have a long way to go, we did a better job of it today."
"Our hitters did a nice job of situational hitting. We moved runners along with productive outs. Laboy had sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly and Shance Albertson had a bunt for a hit. When our bats haven't been the most consistent as of late, we have to play a little smaller and execute in situations. We did that in game two."
"Mickey did a great job filling up the zone on all three pitches. He kept them off balance and let our defense work. We made a couple good catches in the outfield, but for the most part we just made the routine plays that we need to make. They are very disciplined hitters and Mickey needed to be at his best the whole way. He was."
Up Next:
The Eagles are slated to finish the Manhattanville series with a nine-inning home game tomorrow. Because of expected weather early in the day, the start of that game has been pushed back to 3:00 pm. Follow @EUEagles on Twitter for the most up-to-date schedule information.
