GREENSBURG, Pa. (May 1) – The Vulcans suffered a walk-off loss in extra innings of Game 2 on Saturday afternoon, as they were swept in a doubleheader at No. 7 Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action, suffering an 8-2 loss in Game 1 before falling by a 7-4 count in nine innings.
With the sweep, the California University of Pennsylvania baseball team falls to 22-14 overall with a 13-11 record in league play. The Vulcans enter the last week of the regular season in a three-way tie for second in the PSAC West standings with 13 victories in divisional action. Meanwhile, the Griffins improve to 25-4 this season behind a 17-4 mark in conference play.
In Game 2, junior
Jacob McCaskey (Tarentum, Pa./Deer Lakes) finished 4-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored while making his third start as a pitcher this season. He took a no-decision after allowing one run (earned) on four hits and five walks while tallying seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings (90 pitches). Junior shortstop
Anthony Venezia (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) collected a pair of hits and scored two runs from the leadoff spot.
Cal U took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first when Venezia scored on a wild pitch and junior right fielder
Patrick Brogan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) later collected a two-run single with two outs. The Griffins answered with a solo homer by center fielder Derek Orndorff in the third before McCaskey forced Seton Hill to leave the bases loaded in the fourth with a called third strike.
The Griffins tied the score in the fifth with two runs on three hits before taking a 4-3 lead on a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth. Cal U responded in the seventh with a two-out RBI single by McCaskey after Venezia reached on a triple. Seton Hill stranded the go-ahead runner on second in the bottom of the inning, as the game was forced to extra innings.
Cal U was retired in order in the eighth before Seton Hill loaded the bases in the eighth with three walks before sophomore
Luke Warhola (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) recorded a strikeout to halt the inning. After a scoreless top half, the Griffins had runners on first and second in the ninth before a called third strike for the second out. Orndorff then belted a three-run, walk-off homer – his second longball of the game.
The Vulcans used five different pitchers in the contest with freshman
Justin Naylor (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) being saddled with the loss after entering in the ninth inning.
In Game 1, senior third baseman
Louden Conte (California, Pa./California) finished 3-for-3 with three singles. Venezia also added an RBI single in the contest.
Seton Hill took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first before Cal U scored on a wild pitch in the second. Left fielder Tommy Pellis recorded a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the inning to stretch the lead to 5-1.
In the third, the Griffins scored on bases-loaded balk and a two-run double to take an 8-1 lead. Cal U eventually worked the deficit to 8-2 in the seventh with senior center fielder
Aaron Previsky (California, Pa./California) reaching on a double and scoring on a triple by Venezia.
Junior
Zach Rohaley (Washington, Pa./Canon-McMillan) suffered the loss after surrendering eight runs (seven earned) on six hits and three walks in 2.1 innings (68 pitches). Sophomore
Devin Foster (Davidsville, Pa./Conemaugh Township) tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, scattering one hit and one walk in his fourth relief appearance of the season.
Cal U closes out the regular season next weekend with a series against Gannon, beginning with a doubleheader in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, May 7, with play starting at 1 p.m.
