La Plume, Pa. - Keystone College opened Colonial States Athletic Conference baseball play by splitting a doubleheader with Gwynedd Mercy University on Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson Field.  The Giants (12-4, 1-1 CSAC) won game one 4-2 on a two-run home run by Alex Herceg (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) in the bottom of the sixth inning before the Griffins (11-9, 4-1 CSAC) rallied from a 3-0 deficit to post an 8-5 victory in the nightcap.
 
Game 1
 
In Saturday's first game, Gwynedd Mercy took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a two-run home run by Shaughn Wright, but Keystone cut their deficit to 2-1 in the  bottom half of the inning when Chris Triano (Greenwich, CT/Rye) drove in Billy Nelson (Moscow, PA/North Pocono) with a double to the gap in left center.
 
The Giants knotted the game at two-apiece in the home third when Louis Reyes (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast) singled to left field to bring home Julian Lanfranco (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) and the score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when Herceg launched a two-run bomb over the fence in left-center to give the hosts a 4-2 advantage. 
 
After issuing a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, Yeison Andujar (Carolina, PR/Programa Educativo Alcance) got a double play followed by a strikeout to pick up his sixth save of the season, preserving the win for Felix Baez (San Juan, PR/Colegio Presbiteriano de Puerto Nuevo), who allowed two runs on four hits to go along with five strikeouts in six innings of work.
 
Triano and Eady had two hits apiece to lead Keystone, who outhit Gwynedd Mercy 10-4 in the opening game win.
 
Gino Tripodi took the loss for the Griffins, who got hits from four different players in the loss.
 
Game 2
 
Keystone took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of Saturday's nightcap as Triano scored on a Herceg double.  The Giants extended their lead to 3-0 the following as Reyes hit an RBI triple before Nate Ross (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva) delivered an RBI base hit.
 
Gwynedd Mercy got a run back in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single before scoring three runs on six hits in the visitor's fifth to take a 4-3 edge.  The Griffins pushed their lead 8-3 in the top of the sixth inning by plating four runs on three hits and one Keystone error.
 
Tony Hunter II (Atlanta, GA/South Effingham) hit a two-run double down the right field line in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring the Giants to within three runs, but that was as close as they would come as the Griffins held on for the win.
 
Mike Di Ianni picked up the win after allowing five runs on seven hits to go along with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings before turning the ball over to Frank Chubb, who picked up the save by retiring the only two batters he faced for Gwynedd Mercy, who got a pair of hits from Dave Tatoian, Beau Fleming, David Blount, and Tommy Nardini.
 
Nelson suffered the loss after yielding four runs on nine hits while fanning three batters in five innings on the hill.  Dan Maguire (Ocean Township, NJ/Ocean Township) was charged with a run against and recorded one out in relief, JP Ramirez (Bronx, NY/Xavier) surrendered three runs on two hits and struck out one batter while Steven Moran (Yonkers, NY/Riverside) picked up one K and did not allow a run in the final 1.2 innings on the mound.
 
Triano paced the Giants with two hits in the loss while Reyes extended his hitting streak to 17 games with his RBI triple in the third inning.
 
Up Next
 
Keystone is scheduled to travel to Gwynedd Mercy on Monday afternoon for the rubber match between the two teams with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania.