La Plume, PA – Keystone College's baseball team bounced back from a 2-1, nine-inning loss in the opening game of Saturday afternoon's key Colonial States Athletic Conference doubleheader to win the nightcap 8-3, to earn a split of the doubleheader at Christy Mathewson Field.  The Giants, now 11-11 overall and 7-2 in conference play, will visit the Griffins (13-9-1, 7-1 CSAC) on Sunday in the rubber match of the regular season series between the two teams currently atop the league standings.   
 
In Saturday's opener, Gwynedd Mercy picked up the extra-inning win despite getting just three hits in the game as the Griffins took advantage of four errors by the Giants.   
 
Keystone took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Gaston Rojas (Carmel, NY/Carmel) hit a two-out single up the middle that scored Kevin Catherina (Ridgefield, NJ/St. Mary (Rutherford)) from second. 
 
Gwynedd Mercy put their leadoff runner on second base with nobody out in the top of the fifth inning on a fielding error by the Giants, but Keystone starter Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, CT/Trumbull) worked out of the jam, getting the final out when Rojas threw out the base runner at the plate after Greg Brooks singled up the middle for the Griffins first hit of the day.
 
Mike Marchitto led off the visitor's seventh inning with a walk before advancing to second on a Keystone error.  Marchitto came around to score the tying run on the Giants' third error of the game on a ball hit by John Burns, who advanced to second on the play.  A walk gave Gwynedd Mercy runners on first and second with nobody out, but reliever Adam Sosnowski (Dickson City, PA/Mid-Valley) worked out of the jam to keep the game tied at 1-1.
 
Rick McLaughlin (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rojas, but Griffins' starter Matt Rakus got a groundout followed by a fly out to work out of the threat and send the game to extra innings.
 
Gwynedd Mercy put their leadoff runner on in the visitor's ninth as Marchitto reached on a Giants' fielding error before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Marchitto, would moved to third on another groundout, would score the go-ahead run on a two-out single down the left field line by Frank Saviski. 
 
McLaughlin singled to right with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Griffins' reliever Andrew Hill got a strikeout followed by a groundout to close out the victory for Gwynedd Mercy.
 
Rakus took a no decision for the Griffins after allowing one run on five hits while striking out three batters in seven innings of work.  Hill (1-0) picked up his first win of the season after yielding just McLaughlin's base hit and fanning two batters over the final two innings.
 
Brooks, Saviski, and Rick Elfreth accounted for Gwynedd Mercy's three hits – all singles - in the game with Marchitto scoring both runs for the Griffins.
 
Blanc turned in an outstanding start for Keystone, taking a no-decision despite allowing just two hits and an unearned run over six innings of work.  The senior right-hander struck out seven batters on the day before turning the ball over to Sosnowski (0-2), who was charged with the loss despite allowing just one hit to go along with three Ks in three innings on the hill.

McLaughlin collected two of Keystone's six hits in the game one loss.
 
In Saturday's nightcap, Gwynedd Mercy took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when John Burns hit a solo home run to left field, but Keystone responded with three runs in the home half of the inning to claim a 3-1 advantage.  Louis Reyes (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast) drove in McLaughlin with the Giants' first run of the game on a base hit to right before Domenick Montanaro (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor Township) hit a two-run single to left field that plated Reyes and Cody Darley (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast).
 
The Giants pushed their advantage to 5-1 in the bottom of the third inning with Reyes driving in Kevin Luciano (Everett, MA/Cambridge Rindge and Latin School) with a single through the right side before McLaughlin scored the host's fifth run of the game on a passed ball.  Keystone tacked on a pair of runs in the home fifth to make it a 7-1 game, with Darley bringing home Luciano with an RBI groundout before McLaughlin scored on Reyes's third RBI single of the game.
 
The hosts took an 8-1 lead in the sixth inning when Dan Denton (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North) scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Luciano before Gwynedd Mercy scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to close out the scoring.
 
Keystone starter Michael Meszoros (Bridgeport, CT/Bassick) (3-2) went five solid innings on the mound to earn the win, allowing one run on two hits while striking out four batters.  Dan Maguire (Ocean Township, NJ/Ocean Township) pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning before Jack Simons (Great Falls, VA/Bullis School) closed out the game allowing two runs on two hits while fanning a pair of batters in the seventh inning.
 
Reyes's 3-3, three RBI effort paced the Giants' offense in game two while McLauglin went 3-4 with three runs scored.  Montanaro also added a pair of hits a two RBIs in the win.
 
Elfreth (2-2) started on the mound for Gwynedd Mercy and went three innings, suffering the loss after being charged with five runs on six hits.  D.J. Mallon allowed two runs on two hits in two innings on the bump while J.P. Harris yielded one run on two hits in one inning of work.
 
Keystone and Gwynedd Mercy will close out their regular season series on Sunday afternoon with a single, nine inning game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Gwynedd Valley, PA.