HUNTINGDON – A 13-hit outing from the Wilkes baseball team allowed the Colonels to cruise to a 15-5 victory over Juniata College in game one before dropping a tight 11-10 contest to the Eagles in game two. With the Sunday split at Langdon-Goodale Field, Wilkes claimed the Landmark Conference series victory two games to one.
 
The Colonels saw their overall record move to 17-5, matching their win total from last season. They now stand at 8-3 in Landmark contests. Juniata advanced to 8-15 on the season and 3-11 in conference play.
 
Zack Luksic (Shavertown, PA/Dallas) got the scoring started with a first-inning double that drove home Mike Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) and Nate Loch to open up a 2-0 lead.
 
Hunter Lawall (West Wyoming, PA/Wyoming Area) got the nod on the mound for Wilkes in the first game of the day. After punching out the first batter he faced, three consecutive Eagles reached base with one runner crossing the plate to make it a 2-1 ballgame. Lawall was able to record the final out of the inning by getting a foul-out to Max Alessi (Wallenpaupack, PA/Wallenpaupack) behind the plate to avoid further damage.
 
In the top of the second, Luke Spencer (Lehman, PA/Lake Lehman) doubled down the right field line to score Nathan Loch (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley) and Alessi. Spencer's 2-RBI knock extended the Wilkes lead to 4-1.
 
A leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning proved costly, as the bases eventually loaded before a 4-6-3 double play brought home the lead runner. A flyout to Mi. Show in center ended the threat as Juniata brought the score to 4-2.
 
A leadoff hit-by-pitch was erased when the runner took off for second and was caught stealing on a great throw by Alessi. Lawall settled in and retired the next two batters by way of a ground out to Loch at second and a flyout to Todd Kolbicka (Hanover Twp., PA/Hanover) in left.
 
After working a leadoff walk in the fourth, Alessi ended up 90 feet from scoring thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Kolbicka and a passed ball. He scored easily on a Loch triple down the right field chalk to build the lead to three runs. On the next at-bat, Spencer reached on an error by the Eagle's first baseman that brought Loch in from third. Wilkes took a 6-2 lead heading to the bottom of the frame.
 
Juniata pulled themselves right back into the game with a three-hit bottom of the fourth that scored three runs to cut the deficit to one.
 
In the fifth, Mi. Show put himself in scoring position after poking a leadoff double down the left field line, bringing up Luksic. The Colonels' designated hitter came through with a massive two-run shot to left center. Luksic's third homer of the campaign gave Wilkes an 8-5 lead.
 
Ryan Sanderson (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell), who came on in relief of Lawall midway through the fourth, tossed a scoreless fifth inning to preserve the three-run advantage.
 
In the sixth, first baseman Chase Vrabel (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) delivered an RBI on a fielder's choice that brought Matthew Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) home from third. Loch also scored on the play because of an error by the second baseman, extending the Colonels' lead to 10-5. Two batters later, right fielder Jimmy Brazofsky (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) ripped a single to right center that scored Vrabel from second. Brazofsky was caught in a pickle on the next at-bat and eventually tagged out, but not before Mi. Show came in to score from third base. When all was said and done, the Blue and Gold put up four runs on two hits to take a 12-5 lead.
 
Sanderson continued to hold it down for Wilkes on the mound, working a quick 1-2-3 sixth.
 
Alessi and Ma. Show both reached base safely in the top of the seventh on a walk and hit-by-pitch respectively. This set the stage for a double by Spencer that sent both runners around the bases, bringing the score to 14-5. On the next at-bat, a Vrabel single to right was deep enough to score Spencer from second and extend the lead to ten runs. Juniata now had three outs to cut their deficit to avoid the conference mercy rule.
 
Sanderson returned for his fourth inning of work and didn't disappoint, negating a first-and-second situation with a 4-6-3 double play and securing the 15-5 victory with a pop up to second base.
 
Sanderson was credited with his third win of the season, moving to 3-0. Spencer and Luksic, who broke open the game with his two-run home run in the fifth, both delivered four-RBI performances at the plate. Loch came around to score four times in the victory.
 
Derek Gehr took the loss on the bump for the Eagles, falling to 0-3 on the season. Juniata enjoyed RBIs from Dakotah Snyder, Corey Daniels, Michael Warren and Tyler Mack.
 
The Colonels got right back to work in the second game of the doubleheader as Loch crushed a leadoff triple to right center. On the subsequent at-bat, Spencer singled to right to drive home Loch. The Wilkes third baseman came around to score on a throwing error to open up an early 2-0 lead in the first.
 
Wilton Abreu (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Liceo Americo Pérez Tolentino) got the start in game two and looked to keep his perfect 5-0 record intact. He worked a quick first inning with a back-to-back lineout and ground out to Ma. Show at shortstop, then punched out the third batter to finish the 1-2-3 inning.
 
Ma. Show led off the second with a walk, then stole second to get into scoring position. He was driven home on an extra base-hit by Spencer to grow the lead to three runs.
 
The Eagles got on the board in the bottom of the second courtesy of a double that scored a pair of baserunners to bring the hosts within one run of tying the game.
 
Wilkes padded their lead in the top of the third when Luksic connected on a pitch for a leadoff single, then came around to score later in the inning when Ma. Show reached on a fielder's choice. Luksic's run brought the Colonel's lead to 4-2.
 
Abreu retired the side in the bottom of the third with a strikeout looking, groundout to third and lineout to center.
 
Juniata tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth when a bases loaded wild pitch allowed a runner to cross the plate. Wilkes still clung to a 4-3 advantage. In the fifth, the Eagles took a 5-4 lead on a double and sacrifice fly.
 
After Mi. Show singled to center field, Luksic stepped up to the plate in the top of the sixth and delivered his second bomb of the afternoon to left center. His fourth home run of the season returned the lead to Wilkes, who took over a 6-5 advantage.
 
The Eagles bounced right back in the bottom half of the inning when a single to right center knocked home a runner on second to knot the score up at six apiece.
 
The back-and-forth scoring continued in the top of the seventh when Vrabel smacked a single to left field, allowing Jacob Cambria (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia) to make it home from second base to reclaim a 7-6 lead.
 
Not to be outdone, Juniata's catcher hit a ball over the fence in left center to once again tie the game at 7-7. A pair of doubles in the bottom of the eighth tacked on four runs to give the Eagles the 11-7 lead.
 
In their last ups of the afternoon, Wilkes put forward a valiant effort to tie the game. Luksic knocked in Spencer and Ryan Cosby (Buford, GA/Mountain View (GA)), followed by a Brazofsky single that scored Mi. Show. Despite the three-run ninth, Juniata was able to record the final three outs and take game two by a score of 11-10.
 
Relief pitcher Colby Butczynski (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke) was assessed with the loss, falling to 0-2. For the second time in one day, Luksic drove home four runs on three hits, including another home run. Joining Luksic in the three-hit club were Spencer and Cambria.
 
Jason Waguespack took the win on the mound for Juniata, improving to 2-1 as Connor Krahulec picked up his second save of the season. Jace Irvin logged an impressive five-RBI performance while Joey Woodrow followed closely behind with four.
 
The Colonels return home to Bruggeworth Field on Wednesday, April 10 when they host Lycoming College for a 4:00 p.m. Landmark Conference showdown.