Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Offense was not in short supply for JCU on Tuesday afternoon, as the Blue Streaks rolled to 11-3 and 11-0 victories in Tiffin over Heidelberg University.
JCU improves to 15-15 and 8-4 in the OAC. Heidelberg drops to 12-18 and 4-8 in conference play.
GAME ONE:
JCU got the afternoon going with some sustained offense throughout the final seven innings, winning the game, 11-3.
Drew Vargo got the starting nod for the visiting Blue Streaks in first of the two game set. The junior worked five strike outs and allowed just three earned runs through seven innings of work, but it was not smooth sailing to start for the left hander.
After working a quick two outs to start the first inning, Vargo found trouble. Heidelberg scored two. In the second, they scored another on a sacrifice fly by Derek Hug.
During the run outburst from Heidelberg, John Carroll bats were silent. JCU saw six straight batters retired through the first two innings, but the third inning would be different.
Jacob Schriner started the inning with a single down the left field line.
Patrick Scholla followed that performance with a single to center field, putting two runners on with no out.
Dominic Mittiga would draw a hit-by-pitch from the Heidelberg starting pitcher Steve Huber to load the bases. Huber would feel the pressure of the early jam with a wild pitch that scored Schriner from third base.
Rob Cifelli delivered at the plate with a single to right field, scoring Scholla. Cifelli would eventually come around to score after a
Tyler Gentile single to left field.
A four-hit third inning from the Blue Streaks evened the score at three through the first third of the game. With the newfound run support, Vargo settled in and got to work. Vargo allowed just three hits from the fourth through sixth innings for the hosts.
The Blue and Gold offense would compliment the stellar performance from Vargo with solid offensive production in the latter half of the game. John Carroll hammered home two runs in the fourth and one run in the sixth, setting up a major eighth inning performance.
The away half of the eighth inning started when
Mike Raschilla powered a single to left field. Raschilla would later reach second on a fielding error. Scholla would draw a one out walk, setting up Mittiga with runners in scoring position. Mittiga singled down the left field line, scoring Raschilla to start the five run rally in the inning.
Patrick Keohane would contribute with a single that would score Scholla. The floodgates would open from there.
David Crowley hit a sacrifice fly to score Mittiga, commencing a back-to-back-to-back RBI stretch from the Blue Streaks. Gentile poured it on with an RBI double, and
Monroe Donnelly wrapped up the inning with a RBI single to right field. JCU worked an 11-3 lead heading into the eighth inning. Steve Virost would come on to close out the game. The sophomore pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to secure the victory.
Vargo earns the win and improves to 4-2 on the year, allowing just 10 hits through seven innings of work.
GAME TWO:Scoring early and often set the tone in game two, as JCU rolled to an 11-0 win over the Student Princes.
JCU rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a single by
Mike Raschilla and a two-run single by
Jacob Schriner.
On a 0-1 count in the second inning,
Tyler Gentile lofted a fly ball to left center, driving home
Patrick Keohane on the sacrifice fly.
Small ball was the friend of the Blue Streaks in game two. A big double from Cifelli in the top of the fourth was as long of a hit as JCU enjoyed, and it was a Crowley single that made it a 6-0 lead.
In the fourth, Scholla smacked a ball through the right side that drove home Donnelly. Kehohane and Donnelly added RBI singles to right field in the next inning.
Through five, the Blue Streaks had a 9-0 lead, and
Brandon Maddern was lights out. Maddern retired 13 in a row before a one-out double in the bottom of the fifth.
Two more runs would come across, one in the seventh and one in the ninth. Mittiga earned a run the hard way, getting hit by a pitch on a 3-0 count in the seventh. He drove home a run with a double down the right field line two innings later.
Raschilla went 5-for-6 with an RBI. Donnelly was 3-4 with three runs.
Maddern (5-4) tossed seven innings of one-hit ball, striking out six batters.
