ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Two extra days of rest could not help Eastern, as the Hood College baseball team dismantled the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent once again, despite the doubleheader being postponed two days in a row. The Blazers defeated the Eagles 5-3 and 8-4 to complete the season sweep, with players breaking program records throughout the day.
On the Mound
Joe Alexander (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) pitched a complete game one, allowing just three earned runs in seven innings while striking out seven batters.
Dutch DeProspero (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) started on the mound in the day's second game, allowing just two earned runs and getting seven batters to whiff through seven total innings.
At the Plate
Cameron Day (Hagerstown, Md./Clear Spring) set the single-season home run record with a shot to left field to mark his seventh of the year.
Tyler Schwarzman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) has taken the crown for the most stolen bases in a career with his 55th and 56th bags being taken in the second game.
Jacob Saylor (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville) finished game two batting 2-4, launching a home run of his own, scoring a total of three times.
Hood 5, Eastern 3
The Blazers jumped out to a first-inning lead thanks to Day's record-setting seventh home run of the season, a two-run bomb to left field. That lead would not last long though, as the Eagles quickly knotted the game at two in the bottom half of the inning.
Eastern would take the lead the very next inning when the batter and runner on second exchanged places.
After a quiet third inning, Hood worked the bases loaded with two outs and managed to take advantage of throwing errors from infielders and the pitcher to retake the lead with a 5-3 advantage.
From there, Alexander and the rest of the Blazers locked in, never allowing more than one batter to get on base before striking out the final batter and securing the series victory.
Hood 8, Eastern 4
The Blazers tried to put this one away early, loading the bases with just the first three batters and plating four before the Eagles even got their first out, tacking on one more before the inning ended.
Tactical hitting got Eastern a run in the fourth inning, and both teams exchanged solo shots in the seventh to head into the final couple frames with Hood holding a 6-2 lead.
A two-run home run from the Eagles in the bottom of the eighth got them within striking distance, but the Blazers clutched up once again, driving in two more runs to regain their four-run lead before
Harrison Ludington (Woodbridge, Va/Forest Park High School) induced weak enough contact on the first three batters he faced to give Hood the season sweep with an 8-4 win.
For the Opponent
Connor Schilling hit 5-7 with a home run across both games.
Luke Meehan batted 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs in game two.
Up Next
The postponing of these games force Hood to play two weekdays in a row as they travel to Arlington, Virginia for a non-conference game against Marymount Tuesday, April 16 at 6 p.m.
