BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Holy Cross baseball team split a Patriot League doubleheader with Lehigh on Saturday, April 30.
The Crusaders' offense was able to capitalize on a number of Lehigh defensive miscues in Game 1, and strong defense and pitching throughout the contest lifted Holy Cross to a 10-inning win over the Mountain Hawks. However, Lehigh bounced back in Game 2, pulling away in the sixth inning to secure the victory.
GAME ONE
Holy Cross 5, Lehigh 3 (10 inn.)
STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
Mudd (5.0 IP, no earned runs, four hits, four strikeouts)
Walters (W, 2.0 IP, no hits, no runs, two strikeouts)
McElroy (2-for-4)
Casserly (2-for-2, double)
Lehigh:
Retzbach (4-for-4, two doubles)
Rother (2-for-4, double, home run)
W: Walters (1-0)
L: Pave (1-2)
S: Remley (2)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lehigh took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Holy Cross quickly evened things up at 1-1 in the top of the second with an RBI groundout.
- Freshman left-hander Tyler Mudd kept the Mountain Hawks off the board for the remainder of his five total innings on the mound, aided by a pair of double plays in the second and third inning.
- Senior first baseman Nate Wolf drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, and advanced to second on a groundout. A wild pitch allowed Wolf to move to third, and an errant throw by Lehigh catcher Adam Retzbach let Wolf come around to score and give the Crusaders a 2-1 advantage.
- A one-out solo home run by Casey Rother tied up the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning. Lehigh had the bases loaded in the frame, but a steal attempt at home went awry for the Mountain Hawks, with junior right-hander Luke Fox throwing to freshman catcher Andrew Whinney to tag out Retzbach and end the inning.
- With a Lehigh runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, freshman Brendan Jones had a diving stop at third and throw to first to end the frame and send the game to extras.
- A walk and a double put runners on second and third for Lehigh with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman right-hander Augie Walters entered in relief, and conceded a walk to load up the bases with no outs. Walters struck out the next batter, then secured a pair of groundouts to keep the game knotted at 2-2.
- After back-to-back walks were issued with two out in the top of the 10th, an error allowed Jones to score and give Holy Cross a 3-2 lead. Lehigh first baseman Joe Gorla then misplayed a popup, with two more Crusaders scoring to extend the advantage to 5-2.
- A sac fly scored a run for Lehigh in the bottom of the 10th, but the Mountain Hawks could not push any additional runs across.
GAME TWO
Lehigh 6, Holy Cross 2
STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
Mudd (2-for-4, triple, RBI, run scored)
D'Acunto (2-for-4, triple, run scored)
Jones (2-for-5, RBI)
Lehigh:
Rother (2-for-4, home run, two RBI, two runs scored)
Retzbach (2-for-4, home run, two runs scored)
Davis (3-for-4, RBI)
W: Rother (3-0)
L: Chudy (2-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A two-run homer gave Lehigh a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
- In the top of the sixth, senior catcher Angelo D'Acunto and Mudd hit back-to-back two-out triples to put Holy Cross on the board. A subsequent single by Jones drove in another run, evening the score at 2-2.
- Lehigh strung together a trio of RBI base hits to regain the lead, 5-2, in the bottom of the sixth.
- Retzbach hit a solo home run in the seventh to extend the Lehigh advantage to 6-2.
DUE UP:
- Holy Cross and Lehigh will close out the weekend series at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 1.
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