YORK, Pa. – Eastern University set the tone early in Saturday's doubleheader, using an explosive first inning to claim an 11-6 victory in game one before battling through a high-scoring 18-13 loss in game two against York College. Despite dropping the second game, the Eagles showed resilience and offensive firepower throughout, continuing to compete in every inning.
Early Surge, Adams' Strong Start Lead to Win
Eastern wasted no time jumping on York's pitching, plating six runs in the first inning to seize control.
Luke Meehan, Matt Gonglik, and Thomas Koslusky each drove in key runs, capitalizing on defensive miscues and timely hitting. The Eagles extended their lead in the middle innings, taking advantage of patient at-bats and aggressive baserunning.
Justin DiCesare and
Zach Mornell worked deep counts to force walks, setting up RBI opportunities, while Meehan swiped second base in the fourth, putting himself in scoring position before Koslusky brought him home with a line-drive single to left.
On the mound,
Graham Adams delivered when it mattered, working six strong innings while limiting York's chances to rally. Though the Spartans managed to push across runs, Adams consistently kept them from stringing together a big inning—a key emphasis for the Eagles' pitching staff.
"Being able to minimize runs in an inning and not allow a big swing is something we've been preaching," Head Coach
Scott Renauro said. "Graham did a really good job again. He found himself in some trouble but worked through it."
In the game, nine different Eastern players scored at least one run, and eight players recorded a hit. Koslusky had the Eagles' only e3xtra-base hit.
Closer Colin Humphreys sealed the victory, working a scoreless seventh to lock in Eastern's first conference win of the season. Eastern's win in game one handed the Spartans their first loss in the league this year. The strong start from Adams is his second-straight solid outing in t e league.
Late Push Falls Short in Slugfest
York jumped toa. 9-2 lead early, but the Eagles rallied to close the gap in the seventh inning. Meehan hit a grand slam to cap the five-run inning. The Spartans, however, grabbed five runs back in the bottom of the inning for a 14-7 lead with three innings to play. Koslusky drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and after York scored twice in the bottom of the inning, the Eagles struck fro five runs onm six hits in the seventh inning to pull within three runs at 16-13. The Eagles put runners on in each of the final two innings, but the were unable to build a rally for a comeback.
"We continued our offensive display today. It seemed like everyone hit in the doubleheader," Renauro said. "York does a great job holding runners, so we knew we had to swing it. We didn't try to do too much and took advantage of what they gave us until the big blasts came."
After neither team scored in the first inning and a half, the two teams put runs on the board in 11 consecutive half innings. York finished with 20 hits and Eastern had 13.
By the Numbers:
Game 1: Eastern 11, York 6 | Game 2: York 18, Eastern 13
Offensive Leaders:
Luke Meehan: 6 RBIs (4 in Game 2, 2 in Game 1), HR
ThomasKoslusky: 4 hits, 3 RBIs across both games
Matt Gonglik: 3 RBIs, HR in Game 2
Pitching Standout:
Graham Adams (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 K)
Up Next:
Eastern (6-13, 1-5 MACC) looks to build on its strong offensive performance when it returns to action at Swarthmore College on Tuesday.
