(Game One) /
(Game Two)
Senior Jason Brooke (Collegeville, PA) hit a two-out, three-run homer in the third inning of game two, propelling Widener to a 6-2 victory that followed a 4-1 defeat in the opener in Chester, PA.
Kyle Gable and Andrew Gordon both singled, stole a base and scored to give Elizabethtown a 2-0 lead in the top of the third in game two. That was the third multi-run inning of the day for the Blue Jays, who had not trailed at all through the first nine innings of the doubleheader.
Widener came back in the bottom of the frame, however. Tom Mahoney (Norristown, PA) laced a one-out single down the right field line and fellow senior Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Senior Alex Oliver (Lebanon, NJ) then came through with a two-run double to left center to knot the score at 2-2.
Junior Sean Saverio (Horsham, PA) kept the rally going with an infield single up the third-base line. After a strikeout, Brooke delivered his three-run shot over the left-field wall to put the Pride ahead for good.
Mahoney added an insurance run in the sixth with an RBI single to center, after sophomore Max McCarthy (Deptford, NJ) led off the inning with a pinch-hit double down the left-field line.
Senior starting pitcher Kevin Culbert (Brookhaven, PA) went the distance to improve to 3-1, allowing seven hits and striking out five. Oliver went 3-for-3 and Saverio extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Widener again struggled offensively in the opening game of the doubleheader. One week after managing just one run in game one against Lebanon Valley, the Pride could only scratch out one in the first game against Elizabethtown.
The Blue Jays (5-8, 1-1 CC) took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, capitalizing on three straight two-out walks. Gable and Gordon both delivered RBI singles in the inning. Elizabethtown got two more in the fourth on a double to left from catcher Steve Motika.
Widener's only run came in the fifth when DeAngelis drove a two-out, RBI triple to right center. The Pride left runners on base in six of the seven innings and each of the last three, including leaving them loaded in the sixth.
Elizabethtown starting pitcher Wayne Leonard (1-2) went six innings, allowing just three hits and three walks, and Todd Leister recorded the save. Kevin Berkheiser went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
Junior Salvatore Spera (Norristown, PA) struck out five over 3 2/3 shutout innings in relief for the Pride (14-6, 3-2).
Widener on Tuesday travels to Elizabethtown to close the three-game set with the Blue Jays, starting at 3:30 pm.
