Box Scores
W 9-8 / W 14-7
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Warriors scored six runs in the sixth inning for a 9-8 win in the first game and used a four-hit, 11-strikeout performance by sophomore Tom Admire for a 14-7 win in game two as East Stroudsburg University swept Mercyhurst in Florida on Saturday.
In the first game of the doubleheader, ESU (7-3) trailed 8-3 entering the bottom of the sixth. Senior DH Chris Zsenak led off with a double, followed by an RBI single by junior IF Brendan O'Malley. After another single and a walk loaded the bases, senior 2B Chad Schlegel cleared them with a double, bringing the Warriors to within one run. A two-run home run by senior OF Mike Bortz put ESU ahead before junior pitcher Anthony Clemens finished Mercyhurst off in the top of the seventh.
Bortz finished 2-for-3 with his ninth career home run, which moves him into a tie for 10th in school history. Junior C Brenden O'Connor went 3-for-3 with a double. Senior pitcher Bill Hezel was credited with the win, throwing two scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, and Clemens nailed down his ninth career save to extend his school record.
In the second game, the Warriors used a strong outing by Admire and two huge run-scoring innings to put away the Lakers. ESU used five walks and four hits, including a double by Bortz, to jump out to an 8-0 lead after one inning.
ESU tacked on another five runs in the top of the third, with two of them coming on a double by senior OF Kevin Thompson. Thompson went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI while Bortz was 1-for-3 with three RBI.
Admire's win takes him to 2-0 on the season, giving up three runs and striking out 18 batters in 15 innings of work.
The Warriors are off Sunday and take the field again on Monday as they face Slippery Rock in a doubleheader at 3 p.m.
