WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University baseball team extended their winning streak to three games with a 2-0 win over the Lycoming College Warriors Thursday evening at Bruggeworth Field.
The Colonels improve to 6-5 this season and remain undefeated in conference play (3-0 Landmark), while the Warriors fall to 7-10 (0-4 Landmark) on the season.
Every hit and base runner was pivotal in what ended up being a low-scoring affair. Both teams went down quietly in the first inning, but the Colonels got a run on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-out rally.
It started when Andres Cruz (Wayne, PA/Radnor) was hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count. He then stole second base and advanced to third after a Gavin Lacoe (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) single. Matthew Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) brought Cruz home with an infield RBI single off the pitcher to give the Colonels a 1-0 lead.
Wilkes didn't know it yet, but that would've been enough to get the job done because their starting pitcher Zachary Lloyd (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) was lights out on the mound. The junior pitched seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just five hits and striking out three batters while throwing 67 pitches.
However, the Colonels did tack on another run in the very next inning with another two-out rally. Jack Mathis (Exeter PA/Wyoming Area) got on base with one out after a hit by pitch, and he advanced to second on a Michael Sabella (Cornelius, NC/Hough) groundout. Devin Markert (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) walked on five pitches to get men on first and second, and Andres Cruz (Wayne, PA/Radnor) hit an RBI single to right field to bring in Mathis and make it 2-0.
Wilkes failed to record a hit for the rest of the game, but it didn't matter with Lloyd dominating on the mound. After those seven strong innings, Shaun O'Donnell (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) came in out of the bullpen and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, then Ethan Grodack (Lake Ariel, PA/Western Wayne) came in to pitch the ninth and got the final three outs to secure the win.
Lloyd earned the win with his stellar outing, and Grodack recorded his first save of the season. Meanwhile, Brayden Maksimik took the loss for the Warriors after pitching three innings and allowing two runs, three hits, one strikeout, and three hit batters.
At the plate, the Colonels finished with just three hits from Cruz, Lacoe, and Show. Cruz went 1-2 with an RBI single and a walk, Lacoe went 1-4 with a single, and Show went 1-4 as well with an RBI single. Josh Bottger led the way for Lycoming by going 3-3 with three singles in the batters box.
Next up for the Colonels is a three-game weekend series at home against the Moravian University Greyhounds. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 21 with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.
