MADISON, N.J.- Juniata lost a pair of low-scoring contests, being swept by Landmark Conference opponents Drew. In game one, they lost 4-3, and in game two, they were shut out in a 4-0 defeat.
Both starters went deep in game one, with Derek Gehr totaling 8.0 innings with eight hits, two earned runs, and five strikeouts for Juniata, while the Drew starter went seven innings.
Zach Johnston had two of Juniata's three runs with a two-run homer to left field in the second inning as the team struggled to just four hits across the nine innings.
Gehr worked out of trouble after hitting a pair of batters in the first inning, generating a flyout to escape the frame.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, all three of Juniata's runs came in the second inning. Woodrow got things going with a single to left field, then Johnston cleared the fence for an early 2-0 lead. Caden Collins walked, Tim Coleman singled, and Jordan Chui was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Dakotah Snyder hit a fly ball deep enough to score Collins, then Michael Warren walked to reload the bases. A popout left the bases loaded.
Gehr continued to efficiently push through the Drew offense in the middle innings, stranding a runner on second with one out in the third inning, then spinning a 6-3 lineout double play to escape the fourth. Drew did get on the board with one run in the fifth inning. A leadoff double started the frame, then a two-out double scored one to make it a 3-1 game.
Juniata broke a run of 15 consecutive retired batters in the seventh inning with a Chui walk but could not advance further. In the eighth, Daniels singled with one out, but he also was unable to get into scoring position.
The Rangers leveled the score in the eighth inning, kicking things off with two singles to put runners on the corners. The next batter fouled out; then a sacrifice fly scored one. Another single put runners on the corners with two outs. Drew leveled the scoreline at 3-3 on an infield error before Gehr escaped the frame with a strikeout.
Juniata was struck out in order in the ninth inning, and Juniata went to the bullpen for the first time of the day in the ninth. The first batter walked, then a sacrifice bunt moved him to second base; the next batter was intentionally put aboard, and then a hit batter loaded the bases with one out. A single up the middle secured a walk-off 4-3 win for the Rangers.
The Juniata bats struggled again in the second game, as Juniata managed just five hits in a 4-0 loss.
Braelan Huber started on the mound for Juniata and made it through four innings of scoreless baseball with four hits, six strikeouts, and two walks. Connor Blough also had a scoreless inning of relief later in the game.
Warren had two of Juniata's five hits, going 2-for-4. Joey Woodrow was 1-for-4 with a double, while Daniels and Johnston each had two walks.
Juniata got a pair of runners in scoring position in the first via a one-out single from Warren and a two-out double from Woodrow before a strikeout ended the inning. The Rangers opened their half of the first with two singles and a walk before Hubler struck out a pair of batters and induced a groundout.
Neither team got into scoring position until the fourth inning when both sides stranded a pair of runners. Hubler worked out of a situation with two runners in scoring position with one out via a pair of strikeouts.
Drew struck for three runs, all with one out, in the sixth inning on a run of a single, walk, double to the left-center gap, a single to left field, and a sacrifice bunt to score a run from third. They added another run with a two-out double in the seventh inning, while Juniata left five runners on base over the last three innings as the offense was shut out for the first time this season.
They'll look for a bounceback on Tuesday when they travel to Landmark Conference opponent Lycoming for the second time this season at 3:00 p.m.
