Royals Take Two Of Three In Rare Tripleheader

SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The University of Scranton took two of three games from Susquehanna University in its Landmark Conference opener Monday afternoon.

In the first game, sophomore pitcher Justin Champagne (Mt. Bethel, Pa./Bangor Area) scattered four hits and struck out seven in going the distance as the Royals emerged with a 2-1 victory in eight innings. In the top of the eighth, senior Kevin Johnson (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) singled, stole second, and scored the game-winning run on an error on a ball hit to the right side of the Crusader infield by freshman David Giglio (Wallingford, Conn./Xavier), who was credited with an RBI on the play.

Losing pitcher John Lunardi (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) turned in an admirable performance for Susquehanna, limiting the Royals to only four hits while striking out 11.

In the second game, Susquehanna got another strong pitching performance from freshman Bryce Warden (West Milford, N.J./West Milford), who twirled a 3-hitter as the Crusaders went on to post a 4-1 victory. Sophomore Don Kirkland (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) had three hits, including a double, and an RBI and sophomore Ben Leonard (Johnstown, Pa./Shade) belted a triple to drive in a run during a two-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman Chris Stallone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), senior Chris Doyle (Hilton Head Island, SC/Regis Jesuit) and Johnson had the lone hits for Scranton.

In the third game, Susquehanna cut a five-run lead down to one in the bottom of the ninth before the Royals held on to win 9-8. Champagne led the Royals with three hits, including a double, and seniors Andrew Outhouse (Croton Falls, N.Y./North Salem) and Steve Melly (Meadowbrook, Pa./Holy Ghost Preparatory) and junior Chris Psihoules (Washington Township, N.J./Westwood) contributed two apiece.

Tied 4-4 after five innings, Outhouse drove in two runs with a double during a four-run rally in the sixth and Champagne followed with an RBI double as Scranton took an 8-4 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, junior relief pitcher Kyle Fox (Scranton, Pa./Bishop Hannan) got out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Crusader freshman Pat Murphy (Landenberg, Pa./Avon Grove) to hit into a double-play and by striking out junior Kyle Wertman (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) to end the game. Fox's save was his team-leading third of the season. His ERA is now 1.5.

Stallone had a hit in each of the three games and has hit safely in all 11 games for the Royals. He is currently second on the team with a .366 batting average. Champagne leads Scranton in hitting with a .414 average.

The Royals, now 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the Landmark Conference, will take on former Freedom Conference rival Wilkes University this Wednesday, March 26, in their home opener at Connell Park beginning at 4:00 p.m.