WASHINGTON, Pa. (March 21) – The Vulcans swept a doubleheader against Gannon with wins of 9-4 and 7-6 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play Saturday afternoon at CONSOL Energy Park.
With the victories, the California University of Pennsylvania baseball team extends its winning streak to four games and improves to 7-10 overall and 5-3 in league play. Meanwhile, Gannon falls to 10-12 overall behind a 2-6 mark in conference action. The Vulcans earned their first four-game series sweep of the Golden Knights since April 9-10, 2010.
In Game 1, Cal U jumped out to a 6-3 lead with a pair of three-run innings in the opening three innings. Junior center fielder
Mick Fennell (Butler, Pa./Butler) led off the bottom of the first with a hit by pitch before stealing second. The Vulcans then loaded the bases after a walk by senior shortstop
Matt Peters (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) before a sacrifice fly from junior first baseman
David Marcus (Whitby, Ontario/Father Leo J. Austin) scored Fennell. Freshman designated hitter
Chris Wastchak (Peters Twp., Pa./Peters Township) then added a two-run double to give Cal U a 3-2 lead.
Freshman catcher
Parker Lynn (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) led off the bottom of the second with a homer down the left-field line. Cal U added an RBI double by Peters and a run-scoring single from Marcus to take a 6-3 lead. Gannon cut the lead to 6-4 on an RBI single to center field by Jared Wiesen. In the fifth, the Vulcans loaded the bases and scored on a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly by Fennell to push the game out of reach at 9-4.
Wastchak finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and walks. Junior left field
Jared Grove (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) was 2-for-3, while Lyn also finished with two hits.
Junior starting pitcher
GJ Senchak (New Castle, Pa./New Castle) earned the win by throwing a complete game while striking out four and scattering eight hits. Gannon starter Matt Tobin took the loss after tossing 3.0 innings and yielding seven runs (five earned).
The Vulcans raced out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Sophomore second baseman
Danny McGrath (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) delivered a run-scoring single to plate Fennell. Two batters later, Marcus hit a three-run, opposite-field homer to left field. Gannon cut the Cal U lead to 4-1 on a sacrifice fly in the third inning. The Vulcans then pushed the lead to 6-1 on a homer by senior catcher
Will Kaufman (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) in the bottom half of the third. The Golden Knights pulled to within 6-5 after an RBI triple to center field by Mark DeVita and a three-run homerun by Sean Sutton.
The score remained 6-5 until Gannon tied the game in the top of the seventh on a two-out RBI single to right field. In the bottom half of the seventh, the Vulcans loaded the bases with two outs on a single and two hit batsman. McGrath then delivered the walk-off single through the right side to complete the doubleheader and series sweep.
Marcus finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, a double and a homer. Kaufman was 1-for-3 with two RBI and McGrath finished 4-for-4 with two RBI.
Fennell earned the win in relief after spelling junior starter
Cory Craig (Youngsville, Pa./Youngsville) in the top of the sixth. Fennell improved to 1-1. Craig struck out five, while yielding seven runs (six earned) in 6.2 innings of work. Gannon starter Aaron Jackson took the loss after pitching 6.2 innings and yielding all seven runs, while striking out five and allowing 12 hits.
Cal U returns to action on Wednesday, March 25, when it hosts a non-conference doubleheader against Clarion at 1 p.m.
