WASHINGTON, Pa. (March 21) – The California (PA) baseball team belted four homers and scored a combined 29 runs on Friday afternoon while opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play with a doubleheader sweep of Lock Haven at Wild Things Park, rolling to a 15-2 win in Game 1 before claiming a 14-4 victory in Game 2.
NOTES
• The Vulcans (14-2, 2-0) extended their winning streak to nine games and have out-scored their opponents by an 88-34 margin during that span.
• Cal was facing Lock Haven in league play for the first time since the 2013 campaign, as the Bald Eagles previously played in the PSAC Eastern Division for over a decade.
• Senior first baseman
Payton Conte tallied six hits, nine RBI and four runs scored on Friday.
• Senior left fielder
Ryan Callahan posted five hits, seven RBI and three runs scored, while junior right fielder
Connor Evans collected four hits and three RBI.
• Sophomore center fielder
Ikon Jones finished with three hits, three RBI, six run scored, one walk and two hit by pitches from the leadoff spot.
GAME 1
• Cal scored 15 runs on 13 hits, including three homers, with all nine starters scoring at least one run.
• The Vulcans held a 1-0 lead before scoring eight runs with two outs off three different pitchers in the bottom of the fourth.
• Conte delivered a three-run double before Callahan and senior second baseman
Santino Marra registered back-to-back homers.
• Lock Haven tallied a pair of runs in the top of the fifth before Cal batted around for the second-straight inning in the bottom half.
• Conte and Callahan delivered back-to-back RBI singles before senior third baseman
Nathan Meeks later belted a three-run homer with two outs.
• Conte finished with three hits, five RBI and two runs scored, while Callahan posted two hits, four RBI and two runs scored.
• Sophomore catcher
Conner McTighe scored twice after drawing three walks and Jones scored three times.
• Junior
Michael Valente (4-0) earned the win after yielding two runs (both earned) on five hits with six strikeouts in 5.0 innings (79 pitches).
GAME 2
• The Vulcans scored 14 runs behind eight extra-base hits, as all nine starters totaled at least one hit.
• Cal held a 1-0 after scoring five runs in the bottom of the second inning.
• Junior third baseman
Conor Carney tallied an RBI triple and sophomore catcher
Kyle Rizzo followed with a ground-rule RBI double.
• Conte later belted a two-run homer before the Vulcans added seven runs with no outs in the third to take 13-0 lead.
• Conte collected a two-run double before Callahan followed with a two-run single.
• The Bald Eagles belted a three-run homer in the fourth before each team scored a single run over the last few innings.
• Conte finished with three hits, four RBI and two runs scored, while Callahan registered three hits, three RBI and one run scored.
• Evans collected three hits and two runs scored and Jones totaled two hits, two RBI, three runs scored and one walk.
• Rizzo finished with one hit, two RBI, one run and two walks.
• Senior
Jackson Miller (3-0) posted the victory after allowing three runs (all earned) on four hits and two walks in 2.0 innings (60 pitches).
NEXT
• The Vulcans continue their series against the Bald Eagles tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, with a doubleheader in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m.
