FORT MYERS, FL- The Juniata baseball team played the first two of a three-game series with Landmark Conference rival US Merchant Marine Academy on Friday afternoon at Connie Mack Park. The Eagles dropped both games by scores of 8-6 and 9-6.
Eric Grace (Hopewell, PA/Northern Bedford) started on the mound for JC in Game 1. He went five innings and gave up 11 hits, eight runs, and struck out four batters. Wayne Hydak (Northern Versailles, PA/Serra Catholic) came in for an inning of relief and surrendered just one hit and struck out one.
Juniata led 2-0 in the top of the first inning on Anthony Lombardo's (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) two RBI single. The Mariners were able to get one run back in the bottom portion of the frame when Jacob Sithong scored on a wild pitch.
USMMA evened the score at 2-all on Quinn Fleming's RBI double. The Eagles responded in the fourth when Tyler Morris (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) scored on a wild pitch to go up 3-2. A three-run Mariner inning saw the home team go ahead 5-3.
In the Juniata fifth, Nick Stubbs (Hagerstown, MD/South Hagerstown) led off with a left field double. After Jacob Terry (Denver, PA/Cocalico) struck out, Chris Shreder's (Lititz, PA/Lancaster Catholic) single moved Stubbs to third. Schreder then stole second to put runners on second and third with just one out. Andre Pendleton (Penn Valley, PA/Harriton) delivered an RBI single that scored Stubbs. As he stole second, Schreder scored from third to tie the ballgame up at 5-5. Lombardo then walked and Brady Cotler (Chadds Ford, PA/Salesianum) popped out to short. Pendleton then scored on a wild pitch to give Juniata a 6-5 lead.
Merchant Marine got all three runs back in the bottom portion of the inning to regain its two-run advantage and go up 8-6. Needing a rally in the seventh, the Eagles got a man on first with two outs but Kyle Pannebaker (Thompsontown, PA/East Juniata) hit into a fielder's choice and the game was over.
Stubbs finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and a run scored. He also stole a base. Lombardo went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Pendleton was also 1-for-3 with two runs and a RBI. He stole two bases.
In the second game, Chris Fulton (West Chester, PA/Unionville) got the nod and notched a career-high eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. He gave up six hits, seven runs (six earned) and walked three. Hydak went 2/3 of an inning and gave up three hits and two earned runs.
Juniata jumped on the Mariners early with three runs in each of the first two innings to lead 6-0. Merchant Marine halved the deficit with three runs in the bottom of the second to make it 6-3.
The Eagles' lead lasted until the bottom of the sixth. The Mariners tallied six runs as they rallied to go up 9-6. Juniata could not muster a rally in the seventh as it went down 1-2-3.
Pendleton went 1-for-4 with a double, one run scored, and two RBIs. Lombardo also had two RBIs on 1-for-3 hitting. Schreder was 1-for-3 with a run scored and Terry was also 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
Juniata will look to take the rubber match tomorrow afternoon against the Mariners as it concludes its Florida trip. Game time from Connie Mack Park will be at 1 p.m.
