WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team totaled 27 runs and 38 hits during a two-game sweep of visiting Franciscan University of Steubenville in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park.

Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills) finished the doubleheader with six hits, six runs scored and four RBI. He hit his fifth home run of the season during a game one victory.

The sweep improves the Presidents to 8-0 in PAC play and 14-7 overall. W&J has now won 10-straight games. The losses drop the Barons to 3-14 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

Game One – W&J 10, Franciscan 3
The Presidents overcame a slow start to win the opener by a 10-3 margin. The Barons pushed across three unearned runs in the top of the first inning to take the early 3-0 lead.

Home runs by Garth and Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) helped W&J respond and tie the score at 3-3 in the third inning.

W&J took its first lead of the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio / Wellington School) singled, stole second and scored on a RBI double by Dezenzo to center field that made it 4-3 Presidents.

The Presidents added another run in the seventh when Dezenzo singled home Garth, who had singled to lead off the frame.

W&J put the game out of reach with five runs in the eighth. The Presidents six-straight reach base to open the inning. Garth made it 6-3 with an RBI single before Lutz tacked on two more with a single through the left side.

Ryan Ross (Fredericktown, Pa. / Beth-Center) and Brody Bartenstein (Corning, N.Y. / Corning-Painted Post) tacked on RBI singles to round out the scoring later in the frame.

Garth finished the game with four hits, three RBI and three runs scored. Dezenzo collected three hits and two RBI. Lutz, Zaas, Bartenstein and Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) added two hits apiece.

Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) started and worked five innings to move his record to 2-0. Giarrusso allowed three unearned runs on four hits. The sophomore struck out five and walked none.

Max Stanger (Buffalo, N.Y. / St. Joseph Collegiate) and Ethan Boring (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) combined to work the final four frames scoreless. Stanger tossed three innings, allowed no runs and struck out five.

Boring tossed the final frame. He allowed no runs with one hit and one strikeout.
 
Game Two – W&J 17, Franciscan 7 (8 Innings)

Game two was all W&J as the offense scored early and often. The Presidents scored in the first five innings and six of the eight frames. W&J pounded out a season-high 21 hits to score a season-best 17 runs.

Franciscan once again scored first, as a wild pitch brought home a first inning run.

W&J responded with five runs in the bottom half on six hits. Five-straight Presidents reached base to open the inning. Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) singled on a bunt and stole second before a Garth single put runners on the corners. Lutz drove home two with an RBI double to left center.

Zaas followed with a two-run home run. Zaas' fifth home run of the season made it 4-1 Presidents. Sam Schuster (Fairport Harbor, Ohio / Fairport Harding) drove in another run later in the inning with a sac fly.

W&J tacked on four more runs in the second inning to swell its lead to 9-1. LaDuca singled and scored on a RBI triple by Garth. During the next at bat, Garth came home on a wild pitch. The Red and Black added another run when Dezenzo singled home Zaas. Schuster produced another run-scoring sac fly that made it 9-1.

Following a three-run top of the third by the Barons, the home team countered back with five more runs in the bottom half. Ben Schuler () came through with a two-run single to score LaDuca and Garth to extend the lead to 11-4. Later in the inning, a three-run home run by Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) made it 14-4 Presidents.

W&J added solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Zaas droubled home Lutz. Then in the fifth, Schuster doubled and scored on a dropped sac fly in the outfield hit by Connor Helm (Murrysville, Pa. / Franklin Regional). Those runs made it 16-4 Presidents.

The Barons scored twice in the sixth and once in the seventh to extend the game further. However, the Presidents finished off the run-rule win in the eighth. John Klein (Vienna, Va. / Madison) doubled and scored a batter later when a throwing error brought him around.

LaDuca finished with three hits and three runs scored in game two. Zaas had three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Garth, Stern, Schuster and Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio / Lake Catholic) each had two hits in game two.

Six Presidents appeared on the mound in game two. Jake Stiehl (Reston, Va. / South Lakes) registered the win with a scoreless fifth inning. A trio of seniors, Tyler Brooks (Alexandria, Va. / Saint John's College), Sam Stewart (Raleigh, N.C. / Pro 5 Academy) and Will Frank (Davie, Fla. / NSU University School) appeared out of the pen in game two.

On Deck: Weather permitting, W&J is scheduled for a busy weekend. The Presidents will head to Grove City on Friday and Waynesburg on Saturday for non-conference twinbills before hosting Wooster on Sunday for a single nine-inning non-conference game.