Score: Elmira College 8, Medaille College 0
Score: Elmira College 7, Medaille College 4
Records: Elmira (9-28), Medaille (12-21)
Location: Dunn Field -- Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team closed the 2018 regular season on a high note, as the Soaring Eagles swept a doubleheader from Medaille College at historic Dunn Field Saturday afternoon by scores of 8-0 and 7-4.

Both games began with big innings by the EC batters. In the early contest, the Soaring Eagles posted a five-spot in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back. Although a slimmer margin decided the nightcap, the Purple and Gold picked up where they left off with a four-run first inning.

Game One
All nine Elmira batters came to the plate in the second inning and helped the Soaring Eagles jump out to a 5-0 lead. Senior Dennis Rudolph '18 kickstarted the offensive outburst with a lead-off triple. After Matt van Muelken '18 was walked and an 0-2 pitch plunked Jansen Crossley '20, Eddie O'Donnell IV '18 drove in the first run with a sac fly to deep left field.

With two away and a 2-0 lead, Conor Bawiec '18 and Tommy Fogarty '20 laced back-to-back doubles to the gaps in right- and left-center, respectively. Bawiec's two-bagger plated a pair, and he scored on the ensuing knock to widen the gap to 5-0 in favor of EC.

Extra-base hits continued to fly off of the Elmira bats in the third inning. Harrison Zambarano '19 launched an RBI double of his own that reached the outfield fence and drove home Rudolph, who led off the third with a single and stole second. Zambarano tallied EC's sixth run when he scored on an RBI Crossley groundout.

Elmira's final run brought the Soaring Eagles in the dugout to their feet. Rudolph swatted a liner into center field that snuck underneath the glove of the Medaille outfielder. As the ball rolled all the way to the wall, the speedy senior from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, raced around the bases and beat the relay home for an inside-the-park home run. 

Meanwhile, Bawiec ended his collegiate career with a tremendous performance on the mound. The Lebanon, Pensylvania, native logged his second consecutive complete-game win with a five-hit shutout. Bawiec fanned a season-high-tying nine, three of which came in the top of the fourth when he stranded two runners on base with three consecutive strikeouts.

Game Two
The late game started in similar fashion, as the Soaring Eagles batted around the lineup and scored four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. Fogarty landed the first blow with a two-run base hit, and he trotted home safely on a Will Jenkins '18 double to make it a 3-0 Elmira lead. The fourth and final run of the inning was recorded on a hard-hit ball off the bat of Nate Hanner '18 that resulted in an RBI groundout to third.

The Soaring Eagles scored two more runs in the fourth to take a 6-0 advantage over Medaille. The much-needed insurance was produced on a run-scoring triple Fogarty slugged down the right-field line and a Jenkins infield single that plated Fogarty. Those two runs proved to be vital in the top of the fifth when the Mavs responded by lighting up the scoreboard with their own four-spot. 

Senior righty Joe Kidd '18 outlasted Medaille's fifth-inning rally to pick up his second win of the year. In 5.0 innings, Kidd allowed four runs on six hits with a trio of strikeouts. He was relieved by classmate Anthony Colegrove '18, who registered his first career save with 2.0 scoreless innings.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga when asked about ending the 2018 season with two wins...
"It feels great. I was glad that we could schedule a couple of games knowing that we were short a few in total. To add two more at home is a great way to go out, and winning the last two were certainly icing on the cake."

Coach Paluga on the contributions of the Class of 2018 in their final collegiate games…
"It wasn't too surprising from those guys. Many of them have been doing it for four years. For them to individually go out on a high note and for the seniors to go out with two wins is special."

News and Notes

• Elmira ended the spring season with a 9-28 overall record and a 7-7 mark at Dunn Field.
• EC improved to 6-2 all-time against Medaille and has won four in a row over the Mavericks.
• Rudolph was a double shy of the cycle in the early bout.
• Rudolph's home run was the third of his career and his first of the inside-the-park variety.
• Rudolph raised his batting average to a career-best .376 in his final collegiate season.
• Bawiec tossed his third complete game of the year, all of which ended in wins.
• Bawiec increased his season total to a career-high 58 strikeouts, the most by a pitcher in EC single-season history.
• The complete-game shutout was the second of Bawiec's four-year career donning the Purple and Gold.
• Colegrove saved the first game of his career in the nightcap.
• Jenkins produced season-highs with two hits and two RBIs in the second game.
• Freshman Daren Manheimer '21 made the second appearance of his rookie season off the bench in the first game.