WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.- A seven-run second inning for the Juniata baseball team proved pivotal as they thwarted a ninth-inning Penn College rally in a 16-12 victory at Muncy Bank Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon.
The win extends Juniata's longest win streak of the season to five consecutive victories following a trio of comeback victories over Landmark Conference opponents Drew at Langdon-Goodale Field over the weekend.
The Juniata offense exploded for 16 runs and 17 hits on the day, with five doubles, a triple, and three sacrifice flies while also totaling eight walks.
Michael Warren continued his strong season as he reached base in all six plate appearances and came up just a home run short of the cycle as he went 3-for-3 for a double, triple, four RBI, three runs, and three walks. Warren extends his current hitting streak to nine consecutive games.
Corey Daniels also had three hits in the contest, all singles, with one RBI and one walk. Joey Woodrow had a strong afternoon offensively as well, going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Joey Allegrini, Jackson Cunnane, and David Beard also had two hits. Dakotah Snyder executed two sacrifice flies for two RBI on the day.
Ethan Pfeffer started on the mound and made it through four innings with three earned runs, seven hits, a pair of walks, and three strikeouts before surrendering the ball to Jason Waguespack. Waguespack delivered three innings where he gave up just one run on a solo home run, the lone hit he gave up.
The first inning saw each side get a baserunner aboard but not past first base. The second saw the Eagles offense explode for seven runs in an inning with six hits and two Wildcats errors. Cunnane got aboard with an error, followed by an Evan Mock double to right field. Woodrow grounded out to score one run, followed by three consecutive singles and a Snyder sacrifice fly. With two outs, the Eagles still churned out three more runs in the inning on a Daniels walk, a two-run Warren double to left, and a Cunnane double to right.
Pfeffer returned to the mound following the top of the second, giving up just one hit, although it was a two-out solo home run. Penn got the game back to a 7-4 scoreline in the third inning after nearly stranding two runners with two outs. They were gifted with an infield error to score one, then a double to right field scored two more runs.
Each side scored two apiece in the fourth inning, as Juniata strung together three consecutive hits on a Daniels single, Warren triple into the right field gap, and a Cunnane single to right. The Wildcats found their two runs on two walks, two singles, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly, although they did leave the bases loaded on a foul out to Woodrow.
The fifth saw a break in scoring and just a baserunner apiece from each team. Juniata added insurance in the sixth and seventh innings with a pair of runs apiece. In the sixth, Woodrow doubled to score Warren and Mock following their walks, while Daniels singled to score Beard from second, and Cunnane hit a sacrifice fly to score Snyder following his single earlier in the inning. Penn College added one run in the bottom of the seventh on another solo shot for the Wildcats.
Juniata posted their final three runs in the eighth in an inning that saw three wild pitches to advance runners, a double, two singles, and a sacrifice fly. Penn College scored one run in the bottom half, standing down eight runs heading into the ninth.
The first two baserunners got aboard on a walk and a double to get two in scoring position, then a balk advanced the runners to score one. Penn then got another walk before a double scored one and again got two runners in scoring position. Connor Rohm was called from the bullpen and began to make progress with a popout and a strikeout, although he gave up both inherited runners on a pair of singles. A walk loaded the bases to get the tying run to the plate, but Malone produced a flyout to end the game.
The Juniata baseball team plays a three-game Landmark Conference series at Susquehanna, starting with a pair of games this Saturday. The first pitch of game one is slated for noon.
