HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata baseball team was unable to get a win to close out the 2022 season, falling 10-4 against Susquehanna on Thursday afternoon. This was the third meeting of the two teams this season, with the game being rescheduled after a rain out back in April. The weather was pristine for the season finale, but ultimately the Eagles came up short.
The scoring began slowly for both teams, with Susquehanna not putting up the first run until the top of the third inning, where they took a 2-0 lead. The game would break open in the top of the sixth, when the River Hawks put up six runs on the back of five hits and two fielding errors from Juniata. The Eagles responded with their first tally of the game in the bottom of the inning, with Dakotah Snyder (Lewisburg, Pa. / Lewisburg) leading off with a double before coming home to score on a Jake Swank (Portage, Pa. / Portage) RBI groundout.
Susquehanna pushed their lead further with a run scored in the top of the eighth and top of the ninth inning, making the score 10-1 in their favor headed to the bottom of the ninth. The Eagles did not go down quietly though, starting the inning with three straight singles followed by a walk. With one run already across, a second came home on an RBI groundout from senior Roberto Barranca (York, Pa. / Calvert Hall), before a passed ball allowed a third run. Unfortunately, the Eagles' bats stalled out there, and the game ended 10-4 in favor of Susquehanna. Swank had a solid day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
The Eagles end the year with a 13-22 overall record, while going 5-11 in Landmark Conference play. They'll now look to the offseason to retool and reload in preparation for the 2023 season.
