SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The Wilkes University baseball finished the regular season with a 17-7 defeat to the Susquehanna University River Hawks Saturday afternoon.
The Colonels finished 24-16 (18-6 Landmark) in the regular season and hold the first seed going into the postseason, while the River Hawks finished 25-14 (16-8 Landmark) and secured the two seed.
Looking to stay fresh going into the postseason, Wilkes used eight different pitchers in this contest. Shaun O'Donnell (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) got the start on the mound for the Colonels, but the River Hawks got a run off him immediately.
Michael Girardi walked to start the bottom of the first, then advanced to third on a failed pick off attempt, and he scored when Dylan Heyduk grounded out. Wilkes responded by scoring three runs in the top of the second off Susquehanna starter Dane Rue.
Mike Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) singled to collect his 100th career hit, followed by a Gannon Decker (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) single to get runners on the corner with nobody out. The tying run came home on a River Hawk throwing error, and Michael Sabella (Cornelius, NC/Hough) RBI single and Jack Mathis (Exeter PA/Wyoming Area) hit by pitch made it 3-1 Colonels.
Susquehanna scored four runs in the bottom of the frame with Daniel Storm (Wilmington, DE/Archmere Academy) on the mound. Singles from CJ Orrego, Girardi, and a Wilkes fielding error allowed the River Hawks to take a 5-3 lead.Â
Once again the Colonels fought back with another three-run inning in the third. A Tyler Uram (Carbondale Twp, PA/Lakeland) hit by pitch and back-to-back singles from Show and Decker made it a one-run game (5-4) with nobody out. Nathan Loch (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley) and Mathis hit two singles of their own later in the frame to get the Colonels back in the lead 6-5.
Ian Keane (Middletown, DE/Saint Mark's) then came out of the bullpen for Wilkes, but he surrendered three more runs to River Hawks to make it 8-6. Wilkes made it a one-run game (8-7) in the top of the fifth, but Susquehanna responded with nine runs in the bottom of the inning to make it a 17-7 game. The Colonels never got the deficit under single digits, and the River Hawks ended the game on a mercy rule.
Keane took the loss for the Colonels, going just 0.2 innings and allowing three runs (zero earned) on one hit. Zach Plank got the win for the River Hawks by pitching a scoreless third inning. Michael Gagliardi went 4-5 at the plate for Susquehanna with three RBIs, while Mathis and Loch each went 3-3 for Wilkes.
The Colonels return to action on Wednesday, May 6, for their first game of the Landmark Conference Tournament against Drew. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
