MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - On its final day in South Carolina, Eastern Baseball ended its Spring Break schedule with a pair of wins, competing a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Nazarene.
Sean Cottrell pitched a complete game shutout and continued his offensive tear in a 5-0 win in game one, before a balanced offensive attack, and another clutch RBI from Cottrell in the latter stages of game two helped the Eagles secure an 8-6 triumph.
"The guys really made progress this week," Eastern Head Coach
Scott Renauro said. "We got two really good starts when we needed them today. Cottrell has been hitting everything, but really showed out on the mound in game one."
Cottrell was the Eagles' best offensive player throughout the week, leading the Eagles in batting average (.441), hits (15), home runs (4), and RBIs (18).
The Eagles scored all five of their runs in the first two innings of the opener.
Mark Cruser and
Brad Clemens each drew bases loaded walks in the first inning to give Eastern a 2-0 advantage, before a
Griffin Falco home run and Cottrell two-run double put the Eagles in the driver's seat. Cottrell did the rest on the mound, striking out nine batters and allowing just six hits over the course of the contest.
Connor Schilling scored a pair of runs in the game one victory, while
David Hunsberger also finished with a hit.
Cottrell jumpstarted the offense in game two, hitting an RBI double to right field to score Schilling.
Ryan Turzani scored on a ENC error in the second, before a Hunsberger two-run double in the fourth put the Eagles up 4-0. Eastern plated two more runs in the sixth inning and another in the seventh to increase their advantage to 7-2. The Lions made their push in the sixth and seventh frames, cutting the Eagles' lead to 7-5, but another RBI from Cottrell squelched ENC's comeback attempt, helped Eastern secure the doubleheader sweep.
The Eagles finished the contest with nine hits, five of which were for extra bases. McHale finished 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Cottrell went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
"Hitters have really taken a step in the right direction at the plate," Renauro continued. "When we first got down to Myrtle Beach, we were a little jumpy. But throughout the week, you could tell we started to settle in."
The Eagles will return to St. Davids this weekend for its home opener, taking on Muhlenberg in a Sunday afternoon matinee. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
