BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Playing its first Division I opponent in six years turned out to be a less than enjoyable experience for The University of Scranton baseball team as Lehigh University banged out 21 hits en route to a 17-3 win over the Royals on Tuesday afternoon.

The Mountain Hawks (11-23-1) also took advantage of three Scranton errors and six walks by Royals pitchers to post a season high 17 runs.

The Royals (12-10) held a brief lead in the top of the first when freshman center fielder Michael Umerich (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) led off the game with a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch. But Lehigh took advantage of a pair of Scranton errors while scoring four times in the bottom of the inning.

Scranton answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the second on an RBI double by junior catcher Michael Amaturo (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and a Lehigh error.

But the Mountain Hawks took control in the bottom of the inning, scoring four times. They added two more in the third and four in the fifth to put the game away.

Amaturo finished with a pair of doubles and freshman left fielder Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) had a single for Scranton. Sophomore pitcher Kyle Ranck (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) had a pair of strikeouts in a perfect inning of work.

Lehigh was led by senior first baseman Joe Conaway (Fort Washington, Pa./Germantown Academy), who had three doubles, a triple and five RBIs.

Scranton returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to LaPlume, Pa. to take on seventh-ranked Keystone College at 3:30 p.m.

--ROYALS--