CHESTER, Pa.– Eastern University Baseball used a pair fo late rallies to sweep a doubleheader at Widener. With the two wins in Chester today, the Eagles (6-12, 5-7 MAC Commonwealth) split the MAC Commonwealth series with the Pride. The 10-8 extra-inning win in the opener was the first time Eastern has beaten Widener since 2013. The Eagles rallied from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 6-4 win in the nightcap. Micky Foytik went the distance in the seven-inning win in game two.
Mickey Foytik delivered his second consecutive quality outing to earn the complete-game win in the nightcap. The Eagles gave away a couple early runs to trail 3-0 after three innings in the seven-inning nightcap.
Liam Clarke sliced an RBI double to get the Eagles on the board in the fourth. Clarke missed starting in the opener because of a test for a job after graduation. He came home on a
Brad Clemens sacrifice fly. McHale hit a solo shot to left to tie the game in the sixth.
Coach Renauro spoke about how impressive the at bat was for McHale, who had just missed in several previous at bats. As the Eagles chipped away at the lead, Foytik seemed to grow stronger.
Alex Tiburcio started the seventh with a walk. He moved to second on a productive out by Joe Poma. Tiburcio then stole third to give
Jake Jones a great RBI chance in his pinch-hitting appearance. Jones tripled to the fence in center. The Eagles tacked on two more runs with a walk and more wildness. Foytik worked out of a jam in the seventh to secure the 6-4 win.
The Eagles took advantage of wildness early and late in the opener. The Eagles scored five runs on only two hits in the first inning. Dave Hunsberger pulled a bases-clearing double down the right field line to put the Eagles up. Foytik, the designated hitter in game one, flipped a single to right to drive in Hunsberger. Foytik advanced around the bases and scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch.
Connor Schilling doubled off the fence in left to drive in
Shane Albertson with nobody out in the second. Up 6-0, the Eastern offense stopped. The Eagles did not get another hit until the eighth inning.
The Pride (13-11, 10-10 MAC COmmonwealth), meanwhile started to chip away.
Sean Cottrell allowed four runs on nine hits in his four innings. The first year right-hander did not walk a batter. The Pride picked up a run on
Nick Kosenske in the fifth, but the senior got a pair of ground balls to escape the jam with the Eagles holding onto a 6-5 lead.
Widener put a runner on against
Steve Sattanino in the sixth, but
Jason Hall made a tremendous catch on a foul ball in front of the Widener dugout to end the inning. Widener used a hit batsman and a two-out double to send the game to extra innings.
Sattanino threw 33 pitches in his first outing back from injury. The senior had good command and struck out a pair of Widener hitters.
The Eagles again took advantage of wildness to put up a crooked number after two men were out in the eighth inning. Albertson drew a two-out walk and made it to third on a bad-hop single by Schilling. The next five Eastern batters walked. Widener used four pitchers in the eighth.
Albertson hit the first batter he faced, but got a double-play to get within an out of securing the win. The next four Widener batters reached before Albertson snared a come-backer and flipped it to
Liam Clarke to end the game.
"We competed both games today," Head Coach
Scott Renauro said. "We have been missing that focus, this year. Wwhen we had every reason to give up and hang out heads, we didn't. We grinded out a win. Our pitching today was really good. Cottrell set the tone and Nick, Steve, and Shane did what we needed. Micky gave us the game we needed. To beat York we will have to clean up a few things tomorrow but after two wins they are ready for a challenge."
The Eagles will host York in a doubleheader at The Yard tomorrow at 1:00.
