By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Jennifer Jones
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Playing on DePew Field at Bucknell University for the second time this year, the Juniata College baseball team earned a Landmark Conference split against The University of Scranton, dropping game one 1-0 before finishing with a come-from-behind 5-4 win in game two.
Senior Mario DeYulis (Ebensburg, Pa. / Central Cambria) earned his first win of the season throwing five complete innings in game two surrendering two earned runs off of three hits while striking out four. The Eagles found themselves down 2-0 in the bottom of the second after back-to-back RBI singles from Scranton.
Juniata loaded the bases in the top of the third with only one out, but stranded all three runners. The Eagles kept fighting and managed to push one run across in the top of the fourth after sophomore Kyle Pannebaker (Thompsontown, Pa. / East Juniata) came home on a bases-loaded wild pitch for the first Juniata run of the day. DeYulis set the Royals down in order in the bottom of the inning and Juniata got right back to scoring in the top of the fifth.
Senior third baseman Joe Sforza (Pittstown, N.J./Immaculata) singled to lead off the frame for Juniata, advanced to second on a walk by junior Cody Krepps (Tyrone, Pa. / Bellwood-Antis), stole third, and scored on a throwing error to tie the game at 2-2. Krepps scored the go ahead run off an RBI single from senior catcher Dan Gray (Johnstown, Pa. / Richland) and Gray scored on a sacrifice file from freshman first baseman Eric Grace (Hopewell, Pa. / Northern Bedford). The catcher finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and one run scored.
The Eagles didn't stop there as sophomore right fielder Anthony Lombardo (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona Area) scored the fourth run of the inning for Juniata on the RBI single from junior left fielder Nick Stubbs (Hagerstown, Md. / South Hagerstown). Lombardo went 2-for-4 on the day with one run scored while Stubbs finished 2-for-4 over both games with one run batted in.
Scranton would not go quietly as they scored one run in the bottom of the sixth and one in the bottom of the seventh. But Sforza shut down three batter in a row to earn the save for Juniata and give the Eagles their first Landmark win of the year.
Game one was a classic pitchers' dual between senior Brad Medellin (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) for Juniata and Scranton's Matthew Calamoneri. Medellin through six complete innings in the loss giving up just one earned run from five hits while striking out six.
Senior shortstop Derek Heath (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) led off the game with a walk, but was doubled off on a quick reaction play by the Scranton first baseman. Sforza then ripped a two out triple, but could not advance the final 90 feet to home.
The Eagles got another runner in scoring position when sophomore second baseman Chris Sinisi (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) drew a two out walk and stole second. The Juniata threat ended there on a hard lineout by freshman left fielder Jamie Fell (Frazier, Pa./Frazier).
The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the second on a double and an RBI single for the Royals to put Scranton on top 1-0. Medellin only allowed two more hits in his final four innings of work. Heath managed a one-out single in the top of the third and stole second, but back-to-back fly outs to centerfield ended the threat for the Eagles.
Juniata will travel to Washington, D.C. this weekend for a three game series against Catholic University of America before returning home Wed., April 9, four a doubleheader with Mount Aloysius College beginning at 1 p.m.
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