SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Junior first baseman Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) blasted a second-inning grand slam and The University of Scranton baseball team hung on for an 8-7 victory in the opening game of a doubleheader at Susquehanna at Bollinger Field on Saturday. The Crusaders took the second game, 6-1.

Danzig's home run, his first of the season, fueled a five-run second inning that gave Scranton a 6-1 lead. The Royals (8-9, 3-5 Landmark) led 8-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but Susquehanna (18-8, 8-3 Landmark) scored three times and had the tying run on third when junior right-hander Michael Villegas (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) came on to record the final out for his third save of the season.

Junior shortstop Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) singled three times and scored twice, senior right fielder Michael Gaeta (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) singled, tripled and scored a run, and sophomore center fielder Zach Dignam (Bridgewater, N.J./Immaculata) singled, scored a run and drove in two in the victory.

Junior right-hander James Sawyer (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) allowed six runs, four earned, on seven hits and three walks while striking out three in six innings for the victory in his first appearance of the season.

In the second game, Susquehanna scored a run in the first, three in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth en route to the win. Scranton, which didn't have a hit until the final inning, got singles from senior second baseman Matt Maghini (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and sophomore left fielder Kyle Hamer (Germantown, Md./St. John's College H.S.) and an RBI sac fly from Gaeta.

The two teams will complete the series when they play a single nine-inning game on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. at Bollinger Field. 

--ROYALS--