FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Lebanon Valley baseball team started the day by closing out their Sunday doubleheader sweep of Norwich University with a 5-1 victory over the Cadets and then saw a late rally fall just short in a tough 6-4 defeat to Wilkes University on Tuesday in Fort Pierce, Florida.
 
Game One vs. Norwich
The Dutchmen and Cadets played two and a half innings on Sunday before rain forced the suspension of the game with the Dutchmen leading 4-0. LVC scored all four runs in the first inning as Pete Botbyl led off with a single to right and then stole second. Nico Santoro walked before Logan Brewer doubled to center scoring Botbyl. Shane Stossel then knocked in two runs with a single to center field. Three batters later Luke Pollack drove in Stossel from third with a ground out to the right side. On the mound, Jacob Horton retired the first eight hitters before the rain stopped play.
 
The game picked back up on Tuesday morning with Trey Dianna relieving Horton on the hill and getting the final out of the third. Tyler Satterfield walked with one out in the top of the fourth and advanced to second on an error by the Cadet first baseman. Santoro knocked him in with a single to left giving the Dutchmen a 5-0 advantage. LVC was able to load the bases with two outs, but Norwich got out of the jam with no more runs on the board. Dianna continued to shut the Norwich bats down in his first collegiate appearance as he allowed just a walk in each of the fourth and fifth innings.
 
The Cadet led the seventh off with a walk and hit-by-pitch which made the Dutchmen bring in Ryan Pickle to relieve Dianna with one out. Pickle got a fly out to center before Norwich scored on their only hit of the game with a single to center. Pickle ended the game with a fly out to right giving LVC the sweep.
 
Inside the Box

• Botbyl and Brewer each hit doubles and scored a run.
• Botbyl led the Dutchmen with two hits in the leadoff spot. He stole two bases and walked once. He made four putouts in right field.
• Stossel had two runs batted in and walked twice.
• Dianna earned his first win on the hill with 3.2 innings of no-hit relief. The first-year struck out two and walked three.
• Horton struck out two in his 2.2 innings of work on Sunday.
• Brewer had six putouts at first base while Lincoln Hower had four putouts in center field.

Game Two vs. Wilkes
LVC got out of a jam in the first inning as the Colonels (6-1) put runners at second and third with two outs. Kyle McCracken forced a flyout to center to end the inning. Botbyl led off the bottom of the inning with a single to left. Stossel singled up the middle three batters later to put runners on first and second with two outs, but LVC was unable to score. The Dutchmen put two runners on with two outs in the second as Justin Ranker was hit by a pitch and then Ryan Petrucci drew a walk. The Colonels were able to get out of the inning with no runs across the plate.
 
Wilkes threaten to score in the third and fourth innings, but each time McCracken was able to get out of the inning unscathed. The Dutchmen scored in the bottom of the fourth as Ethan O'Loughlin singled up the middle, stole second, and then scored on a Ranker two-out double to the gap in right center. In the fifth, Jace Fetterman was hit by a pitch and then Santoro singled to left putting runners at first and second with one out. They both scored on the next play as Stossel hit a ball back up the middle to the pitcher who threw it away.
 
The Colonels came right back and took the lead in the top of the sixth with four runs on two hits and three errors. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases before Wilkes hit a double to make it 3-2. After a strikeout, two more runs scored as LVC made a throwing error in the field. The score stayed 4-3 until the eighth when the Colonels hit a two-run triple after a pair of walks to increase the lead to 6-3. Owen Berry came in the game and struck out the final two batters of the inning.
 
The Dutchmen loaded the bases with one out in the eighth as Ranked singled, Duncan Weir hit a pinch-hit single, and then Botbyl walked. The Colonels were able to get out of the inning with a strikeout and a pop up to shortstop to get out of the jam. In the ninth, Stossel was hit by a pitch, Brewer singled, and then Ryan Murphy knocked in a run with a one-out single through the left side. Wilkes got the final two outs to shut down the rally and earn the win.
 
Inside the Box

• The Dutchmen out hit the Colonels 11-5 in the game.
• Santoro had two hits and scored a run to tie the program's career runs record with 114.
• Murphy also had two hits and knocked in a run.
• Ranker hit a double as one of his two hits and had a run batted in.
• LVC drew two walks and were hit by four pitches including Fetterman being hit twice.
• McCracken struck out three in four innings of work on the mound.
• Malachi Duka threw an inning of hitless relief with two strikeouts.
• Tony Bennage struck out four in 1.2 innings while Berry struck out three in 1.2 innings of work.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will look to rebound from their first defeat in Florida on Wednesday morning as they take on Kenyon College at 11 a.m. back at the Lawnwood Complex in Fort Pierce.

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