Greyhounds Halt Slide With Doubleheader Sweep

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Moravian baseball tea swept a Landmark Conference doubleheader from Drew University, taking the second game, 13-1, after snapping a nine-game losing streak with a 6-1 win in game one at Gillespie Field to get back to .500 in conference action.

In game one Moravian jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Junior outfielders Eric Shea and Josh Hinkle led off the inning with singles and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from junior shortstop Kevin Gambrino. Junior first baseman Joseph Durso then singled to drive in both Shea and Hinkle.

The Greyhounds would extend their lead to 5-0 with three more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman catcher Jon Baltz singled to lead off the inning and senior second baseman Brett Stout reached on a Drew error while trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Freshman third baseman Jason Huber drew a walk to load the bases, setting up an RBI sacrifice fly by Shea to score Baltz. Hinkle followed with a two RBI single to push Stout and Huber across the plate.

Moravian would make its lead 6-0 with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gambrino led off with a walk and advanced to second on a ground out by Durso. Sophomore outfielder Brad Bodine then hit an RBI single scoring Gambrino with Moravian's final run of the game. The Greyhounds had seven hits in the contest with Hinkle going two-for-three.

The Rangers got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning when John Minio led off with a slolo home run, his fifth of the season. Minio's homer was just one of two hits for Drew with Andrew Baxter hitting a single to lead off the third inning.

Moravian sophomore pitcher Christopher Morrison improved to 4-2 on the mound this season, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks while striking out two batters in the complete game. Matt Levine took the loss for the Rangers, allowing six runs, five of them earned, on seevn hits and three walks while striking out three Greyhound batters.

In game two The Rangers would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Nixon Feliz led off with a single and scored on a double steal with John Minio.

The Greyhounds responded with three runs in the bottom half of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. Senior second baseman Brett Stout led off with a single and freshman third baseman Jason Huber followed with a single. Junior outfielder Eric Shea laid down a sacrifice bunt to put both runners in scoring position for a two-RBI single by junior outfielder Josh Hinkle. After junior shortstop Kevin Gambrino was hit by a pitch, junior first baseman Joseph Durso singled to score Hinkle with the final run of the inning.

Moravian would then push eight runs across the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning to take an 11-1 lead. Huber led off with a walk and stole second. Shea would then walks and Hinkle hit an infield single to load the bases. Gambrino was hit by another pitch to drive in Huber While Durso reached on a fielder's choice as the Rangers tried to throw Shea out at the plate. The throw home would go out of play, allowing Hinkle to score as well. Sophomore outfielder Brad Bodine would connect on an RBI sacrifice fly to score Gambrino before freshman designated hitter Jake Schweitzer hit a two-run homer to left field, Schweitzer's first collegiate home run. Freshman catcher Jon Baltz and senior second baseman Brett Stout hit back-to-back singles. Huber would hit an RBI infield single to score Baltz, who had moved to third on Stout's hit, and Stout eventually scored on a throwing error on an infield single by Shea to finish the scoring in the inning.

The Greyhounds scored twice more in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomore shortstop Scott Brady was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Durso followed with a single. Sophomore outfielder David Lengyel then hit a single to lead the bases before freshman designated hitter Jacob Millen grounded into a double play that scored Brady. Junior catcher Thomas Czarnecki added an RBI double to left field in his first at-bat of the game to score Durso with the final run of the game.

Moravian finished the contest with 13 hits including a two-for-two performance by Huber and two-for-four games by Hinkle, Durso and Stout. The Rangers had four hits with Michael Meador collecting two of them.

Senior Trevor Lawrence improved to 2-0 on the mound this season for the Greyhounds, allowing a run on four hits and a walk while striking out four batters. Drew used three pitchers with Daniel Blum taking the loss after giving up seven runs, six of them earned, on six hits and two walks with one strikeout in four-plus innings of action.