#24 Misericordia 14, Lebanon Valley 0

LVC Lineup
1. Edwards 2b, 2. Dohner cf, 3. Z. Smith ss, 4. Smarkanic 3b, 5. Fundell 1b, 6. Puglisi lf, 7. P. Smith dh, 8. Albright c, 9. Harned rf, SP Hornberger

Misericordia Lineup
1. Boroch ss, 2. Hair cf, 3. Lindsay 2b, 4. Comerford rf, 5. Navoczynski lf, 6. Cuccio dh, 7. Eshleman 3b, 8. Westrich 1b, 9. Reda c, SP Vogeli

How It Happened
Misericorida's big third inning broke open a close game and propelled the nation's 24th-ranked team to a 14-0 victory over Lebanon Valley in Fort Pierce, Fla. on Monday morning.

Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Mike Comerford doubled and DJ Navoczynski singled in back-to-back at-bats, driving in two runs each to give the Cougars (3-0) their first significant lead of the day.

Navoczynski's fourth inning double cleared the bases and upped MU's advantage to 9-0 while the Flying Dutchmen (1-2) couldn't do anything with Brett Fundell's leadoff double in the top half of the fifth, stalling any hopes of an LVC comeback.

The Cougars tacked on a run in the sixth and sealed the win with four more in the bottom of the eighth.

A pair of LVC runners reached base in the third, fifth, and eighth stanzas but the Dutchmen couldn't convert a timely hit to bring a run across.

On the Mound
- LVC's Austin Hornberger (0-1) struggled a bit in his first start of the season. He struck out four but allowed nine runs on four hits, two walks, and hit six batters in 3.2 innings of work.
- Lee Webber spelled Hornberger in the fourth and threw 2.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits to go with two strikeouts.
- John Toomey saw 1.1 innings of work, allowing four hits and four runs in addition to striking out two Cougars. Brandon Popp closed it out for LVC, coming on to record the final two MU outs.

At the Plate
- The Dutchmen managed just three hits against Misericordia with Zach Edwards, Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week Brett Fundell, and Jonathan Harned accounting for the base knocks.
- Two of Lebanon Valley's three hits were doubles (Fundell, Harned).
- LVC got runners on the base path in other ways by working five walks and one hit by pitch.
- Edwards finished 1-for-2 with a single and a walk.
- Misericordia's Mike Comerford had a big day at the dish, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBI, and three runs scored. DJ Navoczynski had a game-high five RBI and Kyle Lindsay scored a game-best four runs.

Around the Diamond
- Lebanon Valley pitchers combined to hit eight Cougar batters.
- The Dutchmen left seven runners on base.
- It was a clean game defensively as neither team committed a fielding error. LVC's Paul Smith reached base on a dropped third strike in the third inning.
- Misericordia swiped six bags on the day.
- LVC catcher Colin Albright gunned down MU's Steve Cuccio trying to steal second base in the second inning.

Stat of the Game
7 – Extra base hits for Misericordia, all of them doubles.

Next Up
LVC's spring break schedule rolls on with the team's first doubleheader of the season against Immaculata tomorrow morning. First pitch for game one is set for 10 a.m.