ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– Pete Botbyl hit his first home run of the season while tallying three hits for the Lebanon Valley College baseball team, helping the club sweep Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 30 at McGill Field. The Dutchmen took the first game 6-1 while posting an 11-5 victory in the second matchup. 

Game One
The Devils (9-13, 3-5 MAC Freedom) opened the scoring in the top of the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk. The Flying Dutchmen (10-10, 4-4 MAC Freedom) answered right back in the bottom of the second, posting a five-frame to go ahead 5-1. The club got runners on first and second base with nobody out after Luke Pollock and Botbyl began the inning with walks. Justin Ranker followed this by lining an RBI double down the third-base line and advancing to third on the throw, plating Pollock and Botbyl. Owen Berry then sent an RBI single into shallow right field, driving in Ranker to make it a 3-1 game.

With no outs in the bottom of the second, Nico Santoro hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Berry. Two batters later, Logan Brewer hit a ground ball to first base and reached on an RBI fielder's choice to score Ryan Murphy. Nathan Clarke then entered the game to pitch in the top of the third inning and tossed a scoreless frame with a groundout to shortstop and two groundouts to third base. 

Lebanon Valley tacked on another run in the bottom of the third, extending its lead to 6-1 against FDU-Florham. Botbyl put the team up by five when he launched a solo home run over the right-field wall. Clarke also blanked the opposition in the top of the fourth, registering the first two outs on a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play before getting a fly out to left field. 

The Devils led off the top of the fifth inning with a triple, but Clarke managed to get out of the frame without yielding a run. The key moment of the frame was when FDU-Florham hit a ground ball toward the third base bag, allowing Berry to tag out the runner and throw over to first for the double play. The Dutchmen then closed out the 6-1 victory in the top of the seventh, as Clarke retired the side in order with a fly out to right field, a strikeout, and a fly out to center. 

Inside the Box Score

• Lebanon Valley's lineup scored six runs on nine hits and five walks. 
• Botbyl hit his first home run of the season while going 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored. 
• Santoro picked up two hits and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. 
• Berry registered a two-hit game, including a double in the third inning. The sophomore also had an RBI and crossed the plate once. Defensively, Berry had a season-high five assists at third base. 
• Ranker recorded a double, an RBI, a run scored, and a walk. 
• Brewer hit a double and tallied an RBI. 
• Murphy and Pollock both scored a run. 
• Murphy also stole a base. 
• Jace Fetterman singled in the bottom of the fifth. 
• Shane Stossel drew two walks at the plate and had a strikeout on the mound.
• Clarke picked up his first win of the season, striking out three batters in five scoreless innings of work.

Game Two
FDU-Florham (9-14, 3-6 MAC Freedom) got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout back to the mound. The Devils added three runs in the top of the second, advancing the score to 4-0 during a frame that included an RBI single up the middle. 

The Flying Dutchmen (11-10, 5-4 MAC Freedom) responded with two runs in the bottom of the second, narrowing the score to 4-2. The club quickly had runners on second and third base with nobody out after Stossel was hit by a pitch and Fetterman lined a double down the right-field line. Later in the frame, Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to the center field to score Stossel. Ranker then hit a ground ball to shortstop and reached on an RBI fielder's choice before advancing to second on a throwing error, plating Fetterman.

Trey Dianna entered the game to pitch for LVC in the top of the third inning, beginning his outing with a scoreless frame on a groundout to shortstop and a double play. The first-year pitcher posted another zero in the top of the fourth, striking out the side in order. The Devils then tacked on a run in the top of the fifth inning, making it a 5-2 game on an RBI single up the middle. 

Kyle McCracken entered the game in the top of the sixth and began his outing by striking out a batter in a scoreless frame. FDU-Florham had a scoring opportunity in the top of the seventh, as the program had a runner on second base with two outs. The Devils' second baseman sent a fly ball to shallow center field, prompting Murphy to charge in and dive to make an impressive catch. 

Lebanon Valley got the bats rolling in the bottom of the seventh inning, rallying for three runs to tie the game at 5-5. The club had the bases loaded with one out for Stossel, who lined a two-run single into right-center field to drive in Botbyl and Santoro. The Dutchmen then evened the score when Ryan Petrucci sent a clutch RBI single into left field, scoring Brewer.

FDU-Florham also generated traffic on the basepaths in the top of the eighth, putting runners on first and second with two outs. The Devils' first baseman then hit a single to Pollock in left field, who fired home for Fetterman to apply an excellent tag for the third out. 

The Flying Dutchmen put together a six-run inning in the bottom of the eighth, claiming an 11-5 advantage. Santoro put the club ahead with an RBI single through the right side, plating Berry. Brewer then dropped an RBI single into right field, bringing home Botbyl. Later in the inning, Fetterman reached on a fielder's choice with a grounder to third, allowing Santoro to score. Lincoln Hower followed this by driving an RBI double into left-center field, knocking in Stossel. The scoring was capped off by Ranker and Berry drawing walks with the bases loaded, plating Fetterman and Hower. LVC closed out the win in the top of the ninth inning, as Blair Shaffer posted a zero with three strikeouts. 

Inside the Box Score

• The Dutchmen scored 11 runs on 12 hits and nine walks. Nine players had RBIs for LVC.
• Stossel went 3-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs, and two runs scored. 
• Ranker knocked in two runs and drew a walk. 
• Santoro registered two hits, including a double. The graduate student also walked, knocked in a run, and scored twice. 
• Brewer, Berry, and Hower each recorded a hit, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Fetterman hit a double while driving in a run and crossing the plate twice.
• Botbyl picked up a hit and a walk while scoring twice.
• Murphy and Petrucci both had a base hit and an RBI.
• Dianna fanned six batters in three innings on the mound. 
• McCracken fanned two batters in two shutout frames.
• Malachi Duka tallied a pair of strikeouts in a relief appearance. 
• Shaffer picked up his second win of the year with three strikeouts in 1.1 scoreless innings. 

Up Next
The Dutchmen will return to the diamond at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, as the program will host Cairn University at McGill Field. 

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.