SWARTHMORE, Pa. - In its season opener on Saturday afternoon, Eastern Baseball (0-1) got off to a strong start, building a 4-2 lead after five innings of play. However, the host Garnet took control from there, rattling off 10 unanswered runs in an eventual 12-4 triumph. Sean Cottrell and Logan Klember combined for four of Eastern's five hits in the contest.

After Swarthmore (2-0) scored the first two runs of the game in the first frame, Klember got the Eagles on the board, hitting a two-out, RBI double to right field to score Brian Lang. Eastern scored its final three runs in the fifth frame, turning its one-run deficit into a two-run advantage.

Connor Schilling opened the scoring in the fifth frame, crossing home plate on a Swarthmore fielding error, before Cottrell collected his first two RBI of the season on a single up the middle, scoring Griffin Falco and Brad Clemens.

The Garnet took the lead back for good in the sixth inning, sending 10 batters to the box and scoring four runs to go up 6-4. Swarthmore scored another run in the seventh and five more insurance runs in the eighth to secure the victory.


"We played solid for six innings," Eastern Head Coach Scott Renauro said. "Sean Cottrell and Logan Klember were comfortable at the plate. They had some key at-bats in the middle of the game for us. Unfortunately, a few things didn't go our way later in the game and were unable to minimize the damage." 

Eastern will travel to Myrtle Beach next week, playing eight games in a span of five days. The Eagles will begin their Spring Break trip against Eagle Road rival Cabrini on Monday, February 28 in a doubleheader beginning at 12 noon.