PITTSBURGH, PA – #7 (The Perfect Game Poll) La Roche used stellar pitching to earn a double-header sweep against #21 (The Perfect Game Poll) Mt. Union on Monday afternoon. The Redhawks took game one 3-1 before walking it off in game two extra innings with a 1-0 win.
Game 1:
Starter Regis Sauer got through the first unscathed and the Redhawks offense gave him breathing room in the bottom of the first.
Joe Professori singled and scored on a Maddux Ryan sac fly to left field. Urban lined a 3-2 pitch into right field and scored on a Jonathan Melendez single up the middle.
Mt. Union was threatening with a runner on third and two outs, but Sauer got a strikeout to end the threat.
Sauer struck out two in the top of the second and the Redhawks tacked on another in the bottom of the inning. Jon Spina singled, stole second, and scored on an Urban sac fly.
A La Roche error allowed Mt. Union to get on the board in the sixth. Sauer limited the damage getting a strikeout looking to strand runners at first and third.
Sauer struck out the final batter of the game to earn the complete game win. He was excellent, striking out 11 and allowing no earned runs in seven innings.
Urban hit in one and scored. Spina and Professori scored and Melendez and Novak hit it runs.
Game 2:
Starter Tre Thomas got the start and held Mt. Union scoreless through four innings. It was not always easy, but Thomas came up big when the Redhawks needed it.
Thomas came back from a 2-out bases loaded jam with a flyout in the second inning. He then fought through a one-out bases loaded jam in the fourth inning, using a popout and flyout to keep it scoreless.
The Redhawks were threatening in the fourth, but a nice play at short left a runner stranded.
Thomas needed just nine pitches to get through the fifth inning. La Roche loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but a strikeout ended the inning.
Thomas threw a perfect sixth inning and Chris Hanlon stranded runners at first and second in the seventh inning.
The game entered extras and the Redhawks came up big in the eighth and ninth. Spina made a sliding catch to keep a runner at second and then Hanlon got a flyout to hold a man at third.
La Roche walked it off in the bottom of the ninth. Elmo Trickett kept things alive with a two out triple to the left field wall. Austin Hoffman was the hero placing a perfect ball into the left field gap.
Thomas and Hanlon combined for nine scoreless innings. Thomas scattered three hits over six innings while Hanlon allowed two hits in three innings. Spina had three hits. Joe Professori's hit streak ended at thirteen games.