SCRANTON, Pa. – Juniata College pounded out four runs on nine hits led by a Brad Medellin (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) home run, but the Eagles came up short in a 10-4 loss to the University of Scranton in Sunday's rubber game of the three-game Landmark Conference series at Connell Park.
Medellin blasted his first collegiate round-tripper with a shot to center field to lead off the third inning, on his way to a 2-for-5 day at the plate. That run pulled Juniata (6-7, 1-2 Landmark) to within a run of Scranton, 4-3, halfway through the third.
That would be as close as Juniata would get to catching the Royals. Scranton posted two runs in the bottom of the third, both coming on Mark Grambo's two-run double to right-center. The Royals tacked on a pair of runs in the fifth, including one on a solo home run by Grambo, and single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Juniata rallied for a single run in the seventh, chasing Scranton starter Corey Gorman after Matt Fritz (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) got to the lefthander with a leadoff single followed by a walk drawn by Chase Dykstra (Somerset, Pa./Somerset Area). Reliever Luke Sheehan advanced both runners with a wild pitch, and Ben Mersky (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) plated the run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Royals answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh, while Sheehan and Kyle Ranck combined to hold the Eagles to two hits over the final two innings.
Juniata had jumped out to an early lead, putting up two runs in the first inning. The first three Eagle batters of the game all got aboard with singles, with Cole Walters (Mount Union, Pa./Mount Union) plating one run on the base hit to center. Medellin scored later in the frame o a grounder to the pitcher.
Scranton answered with three runs in the lower half of the first, adding a single run in the second.
Mersky finished with a pair of hits, scoring one run with one RBI, while Fritz also enjoyed a 2-for-3 day at the plate with one run scored.
Juniata starter Ryan Morrison (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon Catholic) lasted into the fifth inning in the loss, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits while recording one strikeout. Justin Miller (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) came on in the fifth and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits over 3.0 innings on the mound. Josh Green (Hagerstown, Pa./Clear Springs) finished up the ninth for the Eagles.
Juniata makes its home debut on Thursday, March 22, as it hosts Pitt-Bradford in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
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