HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata baseball team split a doubleheader to #22 Catholic on Saturday afternoon, notably completing a miraculous 10-run comeback with a 12-11 victory via a Corey Daniels infield single with the bases loaded and two outs.
Daniels (4-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R), Charlie Bakken (2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 2 R), and Caden Collins (2-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 3B, 1 R) had multi-hit games in game one as the Eagles combined for 13 hits in their late-game rally that saw nine runs in the eighth inning.
The Juniata bullpen shined in their four innings of service, giving up just one earned run and three hits to hold the gap.
The Eagles fell nine runs back by the fourth inning as the Cardinals tagged Juniata four five runs in the first inning and four runs in the fourth inning. Each inning saw a two-run home run for the Cardinals. During this stretch, Juniata managed a single apiece in the second, third, and fourth innings.
The fifth inning saw a pause in scoring while Catholic added one run to their total for a 10-1 advantage through six.
Blake Magill began his second inning of service in the seventh inning and escaped a bases-loaded jam caused by three walks via a strikeout and flyout, which eventually proved vital for a chance at victory.
Juniata got their first run of the game in the seventh, as Mathew Quigley opened the frame with a walk, and Bakken doubled down the right-field line to get back runners in scoring position. Collins secured the first run on a sacrifice fly for a 10-1 game.
Connor Rohm and the Juniata infield rectified a Juniata error to start the eighth inning with a ball to Evan Mock at second base for a double play followed by a Rohm strikeout.
Juniata began their explosive nine-run eighth, making use of a Cardinals pitching staff that lacked command, starting Mock being hit and rounding the bases on three consecutive walk pitches. Daniels and David Beard walked, followed by an Eric Soccio single down the right-field line to score one. A strikeout followed this, then Juniata struck for three consecutive singles to make it 10-6.
A flyout made it two outs, but the Eagles found life on an infield throwing error that scored Collins from third base. From there, Daniels doubled to score two, and Beard singled to completely wipe the deficit to tie the game at ten apiece. Beard stole second and advanced to third base as the potential winning run, but Catholic struck out the next batter for a deadlock heading into the ninth.
Catholic returned with some offensive spark in the ninth inning with two outs as they scored one run via a double and single. With two runners on a strikeout ended the frame with Juniata down one.
Bakken got the offense started in the ninth with a one-out single directly followed by a Collins triple to the left-center gap to get him to third as the potential winning run. Joey Allegrini and Michael Warren were intentionally walked to load the bases, and the Catholic right-fielder was brought in for a five-man infield shifted inward. The Catholic pitcher drew a weak ground ball, and they were able to get the force at the plate, but the bases stayed loaded with two outs. Daniels stepped up the plate and beat out the throw on a weak ground ball for Juniata's third walk-off in conference play this season.
Game two saw the Eagles stay within striking distance until three runs each in the eighth and ninth innings from Catholic secured their 12-4 victory to split the day.
Daniels continued his strong offensive production going 3-for-4 with a double and RBI in a game where Juniata had just eight hits.
Catholic took the lead in the game with back-to-back doubles in the first, while Juniata leveled the scoreline in the second inning via a Daniels double and a Beard single to right field to open the inning. Juniata would strand three runners in the inning.
Catholic drew the lead with two runs in the fourth inning, and they would add on one run in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 6-1 lead. The Eagles struck for three in the seventh inning to get back within striking distance. Quigley started the frame with a walk, and Collins followed with a single. An Allegrini single scored one; then Warren reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. He stole second, and Mock hit an RBI groundout to score one. A Daniels shot up the middle and scored Warren before a strikeout ended the inning.
Catholic stifled the Juniata comeback with three runs in the eighth inning via two walks, two singles, an RBI groundout, and an RBI fielder's choice. A bases-clearing double in the ninth to score three more runs for a 12-4 lead that they preserved for the split.
The Eagles conclude the regular season tomorrow at 11:00 am with the series finale against Catholic. The Juniata baseball team's seniors will be recognized alongside the seniors of the Eagles' softball team prior to the start of the game at 10:20.
