The University of Scranton baseball team finished regular season Landmark Conference play with an 8-2 win over Drew on Sunday at Connell Park, completing the three-game sweep of the Rangers and extending the Royals' winning streak to seven.
Scranton (21-12, 16-5) finishes in first place in the Landmark Conference regular season and will be the top seed in the playoffs. The Royals will host fourth-seeded Catholic (22-11-1, 12-9) in a best-of-three semifinal series on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, at Connell Park. Second-seeded Moravian (18-17, 13-8) will host third-seeded Elizabethtown (24-13, 13-8) in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners will meet at the home site of the highest remaining seed in the best-of-three championship on May 8-9.
The win gives Scranton victories in 14 of its last 15 games and 12 straight in conference play. The Royals opened the season with losses in six of their first seven games. They have gone 20-6 since then.
The Royals took control right from the start on Sunday, scoring twice in the first, once in the third and three times in the fourth for a 6-1 lead after four innings. Senior designated hitter Michael Umerich (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) got things started with a two-out, two-run single in the first. Freshman outfielder Chase Standen (Newtown Square, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) mashed a long homer in the third, and sophomore third baseman Kevin Raszka (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) had an RBI double and freshman second baseman Brad Schneider (Ambler, Pa./LaSalle College H.S.) had an RBI single in the fourth.
Standen finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, senior left fielder Nick Papillo (Germantown, Md./St. John's College H.S.) singled twice and scored twice, and freshman center fielder Tommy Trotter (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) had a double and scored a run.
Sophomore lefty Michael Haag (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining/Bridgton Academy) earned the win, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while fanning two in five innings. Senior Michael Villegas (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) earned a save by tossing four shutout innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six.
The Royals will host Wilkes in a non-conference game on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Connell Park.
--ROYALS--