ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– Kenny Palmieri hit a home run in each game of the Lebanon Valley College baseball team's doubleheader sweep of FDU-Florham, helping lead the program to a 10-3 victory and an 11-1 run-rule win in seven innings on Sunday, March 29, at McGill Field. The Flying Dutchmen also secured a sweep of the series against the Devils.  

Game One 
Landon Sexton started on the mound for the Dutchmen (8-11, 5-3 MAC Freedom) and began the game with a scoreless top of the first inning, picking up a strikeout in the process. Lebanon Valley then opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, taking an early 2-0 lead over the Devils (10-11, 1-7 MAC Freedom). Owen Berry led off the game with a single to right field and advanced to second on a wild pitch before stealing third base.  Devin Kreger followed this with a walk to put runners on the corners. Kreger attempted to steal second but got into a rundown, which allowed Berry to steal home, while Kreger returned to first base safely. Daniel Palmieri later came up to the plate with the bases loaded and hit an RBI single to third base, knocking in Kreger. 

FDU-Florham countered with an RBI single in the top of the second, narrowing its deficit to 2-1. The Flying Dutchmen responded with a solo home run to left-center field by Joey Santora to lead off the bottom of the second, prompting the club to go ahead 3-1. The Devils then hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning, tying the game at 3-3. Sexton later posted a zero for Lebanon Valley in the top of the fourth, retiring the side in order with a flyout to right fielder Kenny Palmieri in right-center field, a strikeout swinging, and a flyout to center fielder Spencer Butz in right-center.

Sexton blanked the opposition in the top of the fifth inning as well, registering another strikeout for LVC. The Dutchmen scored four runs in the bottom half of the fifth, taking a 7-3 advantage. Butz got things started by driving a solo home run over the left-field wall with one out. Daniel Palmieri also came through with an RBI double down the right-field line, plating Kenny Palmieri. Dylan Mennillo followed this with an RBI single to left-center, bringing in Daniel Palmieri. Later in the frame, Lucien Burger hit an RBI single through the right side to knock in Mennillo. 

Parker Tarnoci entered the game to pitch for Lebanon Valley in the top of the sixth with one out and a runner on first base. Tarnoci held FDU-Florham in check and got out of the scoreless frame with a flyout to Kenny Palmieri in right-center, stranding runners on first and second base. The Flying Dutchmen then tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, going up 10-3. Kreger got things started with a single to center field and Butz reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, which advanced pinch runner Luca Santoro to third base. Kenny Palmieri then launched a three-run homer over the left-center field wall, plating Santoro and Butz. In the top of the seventh inning, Tarnoci tossed a 1-2-3 frame to secure LVC's win. The junior recorded the final three outs of the contest with a strikeout looking, a flyout to Butz in center field, and a strikeout swinging. 

Inside the Box Score

• Kenny Palmieri homered for the first time this year while tying a game-high two hits, driving in a game-high three runs, and matching a game-high two runs scored. The senior also tied a career-high in RBIs. 
• Butz hit his first home run of the season while drawing a walk and tying a game-high two runs scored. 
• Santora launched his first homer of the campaign and drew a walk. 
• Daniel Palmieri tied a game-high and season-high two hits and matched a season-high two RBIs. The first-year also registered a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base, and a run scored. 
• Berry tied a game-high two hits, scored a run, and set a game-high with two stolen bases. The senior also matched a season-high in steals. 
• Burger tied a game-high two hits and drove in a run. 
• Mennillo logged a hit, an RBI, and a run scored. 
• Kreger tallied a hit, a walk, and a run scored. 
• Santoro scored a run. 
• Will Plappert picked up a base hit. 
• Lebanon Valley outhit FDU-Florham 13-4.
• Sexton improved his record to 3-0 by striking out a game-high four batters in 5.1 innings. 
• Tarnoci recorded two strikeouts in 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Game Two 
Starting pitcher Trey Dianna began the contest by posting a zero for Lebanon Valley (9-11, 6-3 MAC Freedom) in the top of the first inning. The program notched the third out of the frame with a groundout to third baseman Daniel Palmieri, leaving a runner at first base. The Dutchmen then opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, taking a 4-0 lead over FDU-Florham (10-12, 1-8 MAC Freedom). Phillips got on base with a walk and Kreger was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second base with two outs. Butz followed this by delivering a two-run double to right-center field, plating Phillips and Kreger. Kenny Palmieri then drove a two-run home run over the left-center field wall, bringing in Butz. 

The Devils got on the board in the top of the second with an RBI double, trimming their deficit to 4-1. Dianna then pitched a scoreless inning for LVC in the top of the third, retiring the side in order with a lineout to Mennillo at second base, a groundout to Berry at shortstop, and a groundout to Daniel Palmieri at third base. In the bottom of the third, the Flying Dutchmen added two runs to go up 6-1. Phillips led off with a double to left field and advanced to third base on a wild pitch, before crossing the dish on Kreger's RBI single down the right-field line. Later in the frame, Daniel Palmieri came up to the plate with runners on second and third and hit an RBI groundout to second base, scoring Kreger. 

Dianna continued his strong start for Lebanon Valley in the top of the fourth inning, tallying a strikeout during another shutout frame. Dianna also registered a zero for the Dutchmen in the top of the fifth, recording the third out with a groundout to third baseman Daniel Palmieri to strand a runner at second. Berry then moved from shortstop to the mound in the top of the sixth inning, and the senior pitched a scoreless frame for LVC. Berry logged the third out with a strikeout looking, leaving a runner at first base.

The Flying Dutchmen tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, extending their lead to 9-1. The team began the rally with a single to center field by John Teehan and a single up the middle by Mennillo, putting runners on the corners. Teehan then crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Burger also came through with a sacrifice fly to the left fielder down the left-field line, knocking in Mennillo. Later in the inning, Butz hit an RBI single through the left side to drive in Phillips. 

Berry blanked the opposition in the top of the seventh inning as well, getting out of the frame with a groundout to third baseman Daniel Palmieri to strand a runner first. Lebanon Valley then scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, winning the game 11-1 due to the run rule. Daniel Palmieri led off with a hit-by-pitch before Mennillo hit a single to left-center and advanced to second a fielding error by the left fielder, putting runners on second and third base. Burger later hit a two-run single to right field with two outs, plating Daniel Palmieri and Mennillo to seal the victory. 

Inside the Box Score

• Kenny Palmieri hit a two-run home run for his second long ball of the season. 
• Butz tied a game-high and season-high three hits, matched a game-high three RBIs, and scored a run. 
• Burger registered a base hit and tied a game-high three RBIs. 
• Phillips hit a double, drew a game-high two walks to match a season-high, and scored a game-high three runs. The catcher also threw out a runner attempting to steal second base in the top of the first.
• Kreger tallied two hits, an RBI, and a hit-by-pitch, while tying a career-high two runs scored. 
• Mennillo tied a game-high and set a career-high with three hits. The junior also tied a career-high two runs scored. 
• Daniel Palmieri logged an RBI, a run scored, and a hit-by-pitch. 
• Berry struck out a batter in two scoreless innings of relief. At the plate, the senior picked up a base hit and a walk. 
• Teehan recorded a hit and a run scored.  
• Tyler Satterfield had a base hit. 
• The Dutchmen outhit the Devils 14-7.
• Dianna earned his first win of the campaign by tying a game-high two strikeouts in five innings on the mound. 

Up Next 
The Flying Dutchmen will return to diamond on Tuesday, March 31, at 3:30 p.m., when the program will travel to take on Messiah University at Houck Field in Grantham, Pa.

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