
Black Knights slug way to Game One victory over Lehigh
5/26/2021 4:52:00 PM | Baseball
The Mountain Hawks took full advantage of the moment in the top of the first inning, as junior Gerard Sweeney continued his hot streak, drilling a solo home run over the right field fence to put Lehigh out in front early, 1-0. The lead was extended to 2-0 in the inning following an Andrew Nole ground-out which scored Casey Rother.
Army cut the lead in half in the top of the second inning on an RBI single from Cam Cerruto and went into the top of the fourth inning trailing 2-1.
Seven runs came across to score for the Black Knights in the inning, all against right-hander Mason Black. An RBI double, three-run home run and two-run single had Army West Point in front, 8-2.
Trailing 9-2 in the sixth inning, freshman Tyler Young singled to left center and scored Nole to make it a 9-3 ballgame.
Lehigh got runs in the seventh inning on a Nole sacrifice fly and three runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI single for Rother and a two-run homer off the bat of Joe Gorla, cutting the deficit back to eight runs.
But it was the Black Knights who got the final word, scoring seven more runs to come away with the 15-run victory.
Gerard Sweeney led the Mountain Hawks from the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Casey Rother and Joe Gorla each put together a 2-for-4 day to pace the team.
The Mountain Hawks need two victories in row to capture the Patriot League crown against Army West Point, now both games are set to be a doubleheader beginning at noon on Thursday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Loricco, Anthony (4-1)
L: Black, Mason (7-3)
Batting:
2B: Giachin, Anthony 3 ; Friedrick, Ross 3 ; Cerruto, Cameron 1
HR: Cerruto, Cameron 2 ; Macias, Carter 1
RBI: Meade, Hunter 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 1 ; Giachin, Anthony 4 ; Ruta, Sam 3 ; Walden, Andre 1 ; Friedrick, Ross 1 ; Adams, Jeremiah 2 ; Cerruto, Cameron 5 ; Macias, Carter 3
SF: Meade, Hunter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Meade, Hunter 1 ; Dubrule, Kevin 2 ; Giachin, Anthony 2 ; Simoes, Tim 1 ; Ruta, Sam 1 ; Walden, Andre 1 ; Manesis, Nick 3 ; Friedrick, Ross 3 ; Adams, Jeremiah 1 ; Cerruto, Cameron 3 ; Berg, Derek 1 ; Macias, Carter 3
SB: Dubrule, Kevin 1 ; Walden, Andre 1
HBP: Simoes, Tim 2

Batting:
2B: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Davis, Riley 1
HR: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1
RBI: Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Rother, Casey 1 ; Gorla, Joe 2 ; Nole, Andrew 2 ; Young, Tyler 1
SF: Nole, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sweeney, Gerard 2 ; Rother, Casey 3 ; Gorla, Joe 1 ; Nole, Andrew 1
SB: Young, Tyler 1
HBP: Retzbach, Adam 2 ; McKenna, Quinn 1