Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Mount Union's baseball team scored a pair of one-run wins -- 6-5 and 5-4 -- at Westminster Wednesday in New Wilmington, Pa.
The Purple Raiders, now 12-7 overall, came by the wins in two different ways as they rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the final three innings of game one then had a 4-0 lead in game two before holding on for a 5-4 win.
Mitchell Lake (Orwell/Grand Valley) combined for three hits and drove in two runs on the day, Sean Mohney (Lodi/Cloverleaf) also drove in two runs while Anthony Morino (Strongsville/Strongsville) had three hits to pace Mount Union at the plate.
Scott Chase (North Ridgeville/St. Ignatius) finished both games on the mound to pick up a pair of saves and now has five on the seaosn while junior Mike Wood (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and freshman Noah Skladan (Amherst/Steele) each picked up pitching wins.
In game one, Westminster (9-13) scored a run in the first, a run in the third and three in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead as Titan starting pitcher Joseph Zappitelli had retired 12 straight Raiders at one point.
Morino started the fifth inning with a double, Justin Jakubik (Strongsville/Strongsville) followed with a single and after a Mohney walk loaded the bases, Mount Union got back-to-back RBI singles from Lake and Scott Sherwood (Mentor/Mentor) to make the score 5-2. Adam Bialosky (Hinkley/Medina Highland) drew a bases load walk and Lake eventually scored on a balk as the Raiders finished the inning with four runs and cut the Westminster lead to 5-4.
Morino got things going again for Mount Union in the sixth as he drew a lead off walk, moved to second on a Jakubik sacrifice, got to third on a wild pitch then tied the game on a sacrifice fly from Mohney.
The Raiders took the lead in the seventh as Bialosky reached on a error to start the inning then later in the inning scored when the Titans failed to turn a double play on a Morino grounder that put Mount Union ahead 5-4.
Westminster got the tying run to third base in the seventh but Chase closed out the game for save.
Wood came out of the pen and allowed just one hit over 2.1 innings to get the win.
In game two, Mount Union jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Mohney drove in a run on a ground out while another run scored when Morino tried to steal second base an errand throw by the catcher allowed another Raider run to come in.
The Raiders extended the lead to 4-0 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly RBI from Derek Sullivan (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler Area) and an RBI double from Lake.
Westminster got two runs back in the fifth but Mount Union got what turned out to be a huge insurance run in the seventh as Lake led off the inning with a walk and later scored on a Morino grounder with bases loaded.
The Titans scored a pair of runs in the seventh and had the winning run at second base before Chase was brought in to get the final out and the save.
Skladan gave up two runs on eight hits over the first 3.2 innings to get the win while Sean Coyne pitched a complete game but took the loss for Westminster.
Mount Union returns home to take on No. 6 in the nation Heidelberg in an Ohio Athletic Conference series Friday at 1 p.m. at 23rd Street Field in Alliance.
Mount Union 6, Westminster (Pa.) 5 (Apr 01, 2015 at New Wilmington, Pa.) (Game 1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Union......... 000 041 1 - 6 7 1 (11-7)
Westminster (Pa.)... 101 300 0 - 5 11 1 (9-12)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Westminster (Pa.) - Joseph Zappitelli; Jason Avery(5) and Kellen Gursky.
HR WES - Jake Haubrich (2).
Zappitelli faced 6 batters in the 5th.
Mount Union 5, Westminster (Pa.) 4 (Apr 01, 2015 at New Wilmington, Pa.) (Game 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Union......... 200 200 1 - 5 10 1 (12-7)
Westminster (Pa.)... 000 200 2 - 4 12 1 (9-13)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weather: 50 F Sunny