MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.– Eastern University Baseball had a doubleheader sweep in its grasp, but the College of St. Elizabeth Eagles scored seven times in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 10-5 lead and claim a 12-10 win as a late-day rain started. Eastern won the opener 6-5 after scoring a single run in the top of the seventh. 

How It Happened: 
Eastern jumped to an early lead on a David Hunsberger home run in the second inning. The freshman outfielder had a home run and a triple in the first game and two more extra-base hits in the second. 

The St. Elizabeth Eagles (2-7) grabbed the lead on a two-run home run in the bottom of the second. After Eastern tied the game in the fourth the team grabbed a 5-2 lead with a three-run fifth. Hunsberger delivered the big blow with a two-RBI triple. Freddy Yahn picked up the final RBI of the inning with a single back through the middle. 

The Eastern lead, however, was short-lived. St. Elizabeth took advantage of a pair of throwing errors in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Bennett kept the Eagles in the game. The junior left-hander did not walk a hitter and allowed only three earned runs over hit six innings of work. 

Liam Clarke walked to start the second. He reached third on an error and came home on a single through the middle from Mickey Foytik. Britton Lawrence also tried to score on the play, but he was out on a good throw from center field. 

Shane Albertson came onto pitch with the narrowest of leads to start the seventh. After a leadoff hit, the Eastern Eagles turned a double-play and Alberston got a ground out to claim the save in the opener.

St. Elizabeth built a 5-2 lead in the second game against starter Nelson Ocasio, but the Eastern bats came to life in the middle of the game. Eastern turned a Hunsberger triple to start the fourth into two-run rally. They then pulled ahead to a 7-5 lead with three more runs in the fifth. The lead grew to 10-5 with three more in the bottom of the sixth. Hunsberger again provided the big blow with a double to the fence in right-center. Matt McHale hit a ball to the fence for an out to end the rally.

With the rain picking up, Lawrence moved from third base to the mound to replace Nick Kosenske, who had allowed only one run in three inning of work. A steady progression of pinch-hitters found holes in the infield and kept the line moving for the St. Elizabeth Eagles. Albertson returned to the mound with the score tied, and the St. Elizabeth hitters picked up two more base hits to claim the 12-10 lead.

Albertson reached in the bottom of the inning, but the Eagles were unable to build a rally. 

Coach Renauro says:
"We were not sharp today. We could not overcome multiple mental miscues. Give credit to St. Elizabeth for battling in the last inning, but we did not execute on the mound or in the field today."

Up Next:
The Eagles have a single game scheduled for tomorrow morning against Eastern Mennonite University. The rain that built through the games today is forecast to increase into tomorrow, check Eastern social media for any changes.