March 8, 2009
Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Lafayette completed a four-game weekend sweep of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team, 8-4 and 13-3, at Hawks Stadium Sunday.
The Leopards (7-3), who picked up two convincing wins Saturday to open the series, showed no signs of a letup on Sunday. Ryan Hanna pitched six innings in game one, allowing three runs and struck out three to get the win, while Ethan Perro tossed five shutout innings, scattering five hits to earn the victory in game two.
Lafayette has now won five of its last seven games and improved to 6-0 all-time against UMES. The Hawks (2-11) have lost six straight.
Four Hawks had two-hit games in game one, helping UMES outhit the Leopards, 12-7. Freshman catcher Ben Vasko (San Diego, Calif.) led the way, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Senior second baseman Tyler Love (Palmyra, Pa.) also chipped in with two hits in three at-bats and scored a run.
Lafayette started the day with a 5-0 lead before UMES got its first hacks. The Leopards sent 10 men to the plate, scoring all their runs after Hawks' starter Karim Gonzalez (Mexico City, Mexico) recorded two outs. Shortstop Daniel Bierce started the rally with a single through the left side and stole both second and third before Matt Hall brought him home with an RBI single.
After a pair of bases-loaded walks made it 3-0, A.J. Pisarri poked a single through the infield, knocking in two more.
A Rob Froio sacrifice fly extended the lead to 6-0 before Elliott Alston (Littleton, Colo.) singled up the middle after a dropped foul fly extended his at-bat. Alston moved to third on a Russel Deutschmann (Baden, Ontario) base hit and came in on Vasko's double to left-center field. UMES nearly cut the lead to four on the play, but Deutschmann was cut down at the plate coming around from first.
Lafayette added a run in the top of the sixth and UMES responded with two in the bottom of the inning. Vasko reached on an throwing error by Bierce, scoring Pat Hercinger (Papillion, Neb), who started the inning with a double, moving to third on a Deutschmann single. Franklin Armstrong (Trenton, N.J.) followed, scoring Deutschmann with a single to pull within four at 7-3.
Jeremy Atkins relieved Hanna to begin the seventh and the Hawks pushed another run across to account for the final margin when Love doubled and scored from third on a passed ball.
Hanna improved to 2-1 with the win, while Gonzalez (0-3) pitched five innings, giving six runs and three walks and took the loss. Atkins earned his first save of the season with three innings of three-hit ball.
Game two was all Lafayette as it had a 9-0 lead by the third inning off of left-hander John DesChamps (Virginia Beach, Va.). The visitors tallied five in the third on the strength of a Jeff Butler grand slam to right and a Froio RBI single.
The Hawks had the bases loaded in the third and no outs but Josh Dunham (Des Moines, Iowa) hit into a triple play to end the threat. The ball was handled off the bat by Justin Shepherd at third who sent it to Pisarri at second and who relayed it on first and Butler. Ian McCutcheon completed the play at the plate.
Down 11-0 in the sixth UMES put up three runs on a two-RBI double by Alston and a Jorge Pichardo (La Vega, Dominican Republic) sacrifice fly to right.
Lafayette tacked on three more in the six and seventh. DesChamps (1-2) took the loss allowing 10 runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and four innings.
Phil Vaughn (Clinton, Md.) and Dunham each were 2-for-3 with a run in game two. Alston was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.
The Hawks travel to Maryland Wednesday for a single game at 3 p.m.
