Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College baseball team dropped a pair of close games Saturday afternoon in a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader at Moravian College.
Moravian (5-9, 4-2 CC) scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth to win 6-5 in game one, then broke open the nightcap with a five-run sixth en route to an 8-6 victory.
With their two victories, the Greyhounds completed their second straight three-game sweep over Lebanon Valley (3-9, 0-4 CC), which lost its fifth straight game since returning from its Spring Break trip to Florida. Moravian also defeated the Flying Dutchmen 2-0 in Annville on Friday.
In the first game, LVC built a 4-0 lead over the first two innings against Moravian starter Chris Clancy. In the top of the first, sophomore Jon Kelly (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) plated a run-scoring single before freshman Jared Smith (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) clouted his first collegiate home run, a two-run blast to left, to put the Dutchmen up 3-0. Senior Jeff Grieger (Riegelsville, Pa./Wilson) made it a 4-0 game when he doubled in a run in the second.
Moravian pulled to within a run in the third when Richie Cline ripped a three-homer off LVC starter Robert Nordall (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon). The Greyhounds tied the game with one run on two hits in the fifth.
LVC went ahead 5-4 in the sixth when freshman Dan Kelly (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) drilled a solo home run, his first collegiate gopher ball. But Moravian came back to tie the game once again on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
Neither side scored in the seventh, sending the game to extra innings. Junior Scott Montgomery (Harribsurg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) doubled to right-center with two outs in the eighth, but Clancy escaped the inning with a groundout.
In the bottom of the frame, the Greyhounds had runners on first and third after a single, a
sacrifice bunt and an error. Senior Michael Young then drove in the game-winning run with a single to right.
Clancy (1-2) went the distance to earn the win for Moravian. He gave up 12 hits, walked two and struck out four. Nordall threw six innings and came away with a no-decision for the Dutchmen. He struck out seven and walked nine. Freshman Frank Conn (Lindenwold, Pa./Lindenwold) threw the final 1 1/3 innings and suffered the loss to fall to 0-1.
Montgomery finished 3-for-5 for LVC while Jon Kelly went 2-for-4.
The Dutchmen were the first to score again the second game, scoring twice off Greyhound starter Greg Peters in the top of the second. Sophomore Alex Morrison (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) walked with the bases loaded, then Montgomery drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Moravian cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Cline clouted a solo homer off LVC starter Ryan Dalton (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom). Cline struck again in the fourth as he smacked a two-run homer, his third of the day, to put Moravian up 3-1.
The Greyhounds seemed to have the game in hand after scoring five more runs in the sixth to go ahead 8-2. But LVC's bats heated up in the seventh, as the Dutchmen scored four times to close within 8-6. Jon Kelly plated a run with a single before senior Casey Long (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) smashed a three-run homer to cut the lead to two.
The Valley had the tying run at the plate after Smith reached on an error with one out. But that's when Moravian called on junior Andrew Wach out of the bullpen, and he retired the only two batters he faced to earn the save.
Long finished 2-for-3 in game two.
Dalton (1-2) was charged with all eight of Moravian's runs. He struck out four and walked three. Peters (1-2) gave up all six (four earned) of Lebanon Valley's runs while recording three walks and five strikeouts.
Lebanon Valley concludes its three-day, five-game stretch when it hosts Widener University at noon in another Commonwealth Conference doubleheader on Sunday at McGill Park.
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