HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College baseball team dropped two to Catholic, 8-1 and 7-2, Saturday afternoon at Langdon-Goodale Field.
Juniata was first to score, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Devyn Carper (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona Area) was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on Larry Corle's (Martinsburg, Pa. / Central High School) sacrifice bunt. Adam Kipp (Mt. Wolf, Pa. / Northeastern) and Isaac Maclay (Belleville, Pa. / Mifflin County High School) joined on the base paths after being walked and hit by a pitch, respectively. With bases loaded Jake Swank (Portage, Pa. / Portage) singled to short, sending Carper home.
Catholic took command of the remainder of the game, scoring three in the third, two in the fourth, one in the fifth and an additional two in the sixth for an 8-1 win.
In game two, the Eagles again was the first to get on the board. Swank walked to start the second inning and advanced to second off Hunter Price's (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon Area) sacrifice bunt. A Ryan McClain (Hughesville, Pa. / Hughesville) double down the left field line drove Swank home to put JC up 1-0.
The Cardinals battled back, scoring three in the third to take a 3-1 lead. Juniata was unable to drive in any more runs as Catholic scored additional runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings for a 6-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, Matt Innella (Commack, NY / Commack) started the Eagles off with a single up the middle, advancing to second off William Duffy's (Bronx, NY / Fordham Prep/Clark University) sacrifice bunt. A Carper fly to left placed Innella on third and Corle's single to third sent Innella across the plate.
JC was unable to generate any more runs over the next two innings and dropped game two 7-2.
The Eagles return to the field tomorrow at 12pm for the final game of the series against Catholic.