WASHINGTON, Pa. (March 17) – The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team dropped both games of a non-conference doubleheader against Walsh on Tuesday afternoon, falling 6-5 and 11-8 at CONSOL Energy Park.

With the sweep, the Vulcans fall to 3-10 this season while playing all 13 games in the last 10 days. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers improve to 7-4 overall after returning to the diamond for the first time in 11 days.

In Game 1, Walsh took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first before Cal U answered with two runs in the second. Junior first baseman David Marcus (Whitby, Ontario/Father Leo J. Austin) led off the second with a triple to left center before freshman designated hitter Chris Wastchak (Peters Twp., Pa./Peters Township) reached on a dropped fly that kept Marcus at third. Marcus and Wastchak both later scored on RBI ground-outs, as the Vulcans took a 2-1 lead.

Cal U added a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by senior shortstop Matt Peters (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) before Walsh countered with five runs to take a 6-3 lead entering the middle of the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, the Vulcans scored a pair of unearned runs on RBI singles by junior center fielder Mick Fennell (Butler, Pa./Butler) and sophomore second baseman Danny McGrath (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional).

In his first career start, freshman Matt Carter (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) suffered the loss after allowing five runs (all earned) on seven hits in 3.2 innings (58 pitches). Junior Andre Jones (New Castle, Pa./Union) worked 3.1 innings of relief and yielded one run (unearned) on three hits in Game 1. Walsh used six different pitchers in the victory with sophomore Mark Mittiga earning the victory after tossing 1.0 scoreless inning of relief.

Fennell paced the offense from the leadoff spot by going 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Marcus reached base in all four plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with one run scored and two walks, while freshman third baseman Garrett Brooks (Connellsville, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) reached base three times (error, walk, single).

In Game 2, both teams scored a run in the first inning before the Cavaliers erupted for nine combined runs in the second and third after batting around in each inning. Walsh added one run in the fourth before Brooks collected a two-out RBI single in the fifth to make it 11-2.

The Vulcans then posted three runs in both the sixth and seven innings. In the sixth, Wastchak reached on a leadoff walk before junior left fielder Jared Grove (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) lined a triple to right-center. Redshirt freshman third baseman Levi Krause (East Berlin, Pa./Spring Grove) followed with a two-run homer, his second of the year, before Cal U stranded runners on first and second. The Vulcans cut the deficit to 11-8 in the bottom of the seventh after senior designated hitter Will Kaufman (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) belted a three-run homer with two outs.

Cal U utilized five different pitchers in the loss with senior Luke Burton (Ambridge, Pa./Ambridge) being saddled with loss after surrendering five runs (all earned) on three hits and five walks in 1.2 innings (58 pitches). The Cavaliers again used six pitchers in the victory with senior Jared Bettura (2-0) earning the win after registered a pair of strikeouts in 1.0 innings of relief.

Kaufman finished 4-for-4 with three doubles, a three-run homer and two runs scored, while Krause totaled two RBI and scored twice.

The Vulcans return to PSAC West play on Friday, March 20, when they open a weekend series against Gannon with a doubleheader in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m.