HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Following a late charge back from Susquehanna, the Juniata baseball team broke an 8-8 stalemate in the eighth inning with two runs to secure a 10-8 Landmark Conference victory on Tuesday evening.
Dakotah Snyder went 4-for-5 with a team-high three RBIs, a walk, and one run, while Charlie Bakken went 4-for-5 with three runs and one RBI. Michael Warren went 3-for-5 with a double, one RBI, one run, and one walk. Zach Johnston also doubled, going 3-for-4 with that double, two RBIs, two runs, and a walk.
Connor Rohm started on the mound for Juniata and went five innings with two earned runs, three hits, three strikeouts, and a walk. Jason Waguespack stepped in in relief in the bottom of the seventh inning and got the final seven outs with one earned run and three hits.
Following a 1-2-3 first for both teams, Susquehanna added a run on a Juniata miscommunication error that put a runner in scoring position and an infield single to score the runner.
Juniata answered right back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Joey Woodrow and Johnston started things with walks, then Bakken singled in a run. A Caden Collins walk loaded the bases, and Jordan Chui then scored a run on a single up the middle. Snyder tagged on two more with a single left field before Susquehanna stranded two runners by getting the two outs needed.
With two outs in the third, Juniata added one run on a run of singles from Bakken, Collins, and Tim Coleman, with Coleman scoring Bakken on a single to center field. They added two more in the fourth inning. Snyder and Warren singled to start. Then Daniels singled a ball to the outfield, although an accurate and timely throw to the plate got Snyder advancing home. Johnston added two with a two-out double to left field.
Warren added another insurance run in the fifth, using a two-out Snyder walk to find the right-center gap for an RBI double and an 8-1 score.
Susquehanna found momentum with a five-run, five-hit sixth inning that included two doubles, two singles, and a rally-capping two-run blast to left field. They added one run each in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, a two-out triple down the right-field line scored one. In the eighth, the leadoff runner got aboard and was moved over to third via a sacrifice bunt and groundout. With two outs, Susquehanna hit a ball to left field. They singled again, but Waguespack drew a lineout to a perfectly positioned Chui at the second-base bag to leave the game tied at eight each.
Juniata found two runs to retake the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Johnston and Bakken singled to start. Both got into scoring position with a wild pitch, followed by Collins walking to load the bases. Coleman was hit in the elbow to score the eventual winning run, while Snyder added on an insurance run with an infield single to the left side.
Susquehanna was retired in order in the ninth inning, breaking Juniata's four-game skid heading into this weekend's series against Drew.
They'll face the Rangers three times in Madison this weekend, starting with a single game on Friday starting at 3:30 pm.
