Crusaders Race to 3-1 Record in Doubleheader Sweep

Front Royal, VA – The Christendom College baseball team captured their first 3-1 start in Christendom baseball history with back-to-back wins in a double header against the Kent State Tuscarawas. The Crusaders were victorious in the first game 4-2 and 12-11 in a close second game. 

Game 1

The Crusaders' work on offense was spread out among several of their players. Gus Coleman (Junior/ Milwaukee, WI), Peter Sullivan (Junior/ Omaha, NE), and Joe Romero (Sophomore/ Valley Center, CA) all had a hit and a run. Luke Roman (Junior/ Lilburn, GA) and Matt O'Hara (Sophomore/ Hershey, PA) carried the team with the only two RBIs. Coleman began pitching and pitched a total of 6 innings, ending the game with an impressive 6 strikeouts. Sullivan closed the final inning on the mound, securing a strikeout from the Tuscarawas in that short time. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The top of the first inning brought three quick outs for Kent State. This was followed by the first run of the game by Paul Amuso (Sophomore/ Bristow, VA) off a wild pitch, in the bottom of the inning. Amuso's run was followed by two additional runs from Coleman and Sullivan. This gave the Crusaders a 3-0 lead moving into the second inning.

The majority of the action was featured in the first inning. The second, third, fourth and fifth innings were scoreless as the Crusader locked down on the field to keep the lead. 

Reaching the sixth inning, the action began to pick up again. After getting a few men on base, the Tuscarawas finally got a runner home, making the game 4-1. Christendom responded in the bottom of the sixth inning, with yet another run. 

Although Kent State was able to score a final run, they were unable to catch up to the Crusaders lead. The game came to an end after the top of the seventh inning, with the Crusaders securing their second win of the season 4-2. 

Game 2

Game two proved to be extremely tight between the Crusaders and the Tuscarawas. Although the entire team contributed on offense, Romero, O'Hara, and George Storey (Sophomore/ Amissville, VA) ended the game with 2 runs and 2 hits each. Coleman had a notable 3 RBIs, and O'Hara was on the mound for the entire 7 innings. He also had a total of 7 strikeouts, becoming the team leader in the beginning of the season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The top of the first inning again ended with the Crusaders securing three consecutive outs against the Tuscarawas. Although Christendom had multiple hits, they could not get a runner home in this inning. Kent State found the scoreboard first with two back-to-back runs in the second inning. A double from Coleman also brought the Crusaders to home base with runs by Will Reese (Junior/ Manassas, VA) and Amuso. 

After scoring 6 more runs, the Tuscarawas were able to take a commanding 8-4 lead. Crusaders' left fielder, Romero, put an end to Kent State's streak gloving a fly ball for the final out. Although they only made a dent in the score deficit, Christendom brought in 2 more crucial runs in this inning.

The Crusaders held the Tuscarawas to a single run in the following inning but were unable to add to their own run count. Again, the Crusaders gave up one run in the top of the fifth. The bottom of the fifth inning, however, brought great success on offense for Christendom. With runs from Roman, Reese, Storey, Sullivan, Romero and O'Hara, the Crusaders took a slim lead 11-10. 

As the sixth inning played out, Christendom was able to take control of the field, holding Kent State from bringing in any runs. Yet another run by Storey gave the Crusaders a more comfortable, but still slim, lead at 12-10. Storey's run proved to be crucial, as the Tuscarawas could only produce one additional run in the top of the seventh. This brought the second game of the day to a close with the Crusaders taking the double header 2-0 and now holding a 3-1 record, the best start to a season in program history. 

Next Up: The Crusaders will take on USCAA rival, Penn State Schuylkill, at home on March 7^th. The games will take place at 4pm and 6pm at Bing Crosby Stadium in town.