GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson baseball team bested Thiel twice on Sunday, March 24, to complete a regular-season sweep of the Tomcats. 

W&J won game one by a 16-5 final score behind a 10-run fourth inning. The Presidents took game two, 8-2, extending their win streak to five. Following today's action, the Red & Black are 8-7 overall this season and 3-0 in the PAC. 

Game One
The Presidents continued to keep their bats hot in the opener, defeating Thiel by a 16-5 final score. W&J logged 10 hits and a season-high 13 walks.  

For the second consecutive game, James Artale(Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) opened the scoring, this time hitting an RBI double to left field. Spencer Howell(Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) was driven home from first on the play. 

Thiel took the lead over the next three innings, scoring one in the first, second and third frames. Justin Griffin(Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) tallied one in the top of the third to keep the score at 3-2 in favor of the Tomcats. 

For the second straight day, the Presidents took control of the bout with a 10-run inning, this time tallying 10 in the fourth. The frame began with four walks and a ground out. 

Howell brought home the first two runs with an RBI double to left. The highlight of the frame came when Griffin crushed a grand slam to left to give W&J a 10-3 advantage. The very next batter, Josh Crummer (Great Falls, Va./Flint Hill School) also homered to left. The home runs for Griffin and Crummer were the seniors' first of the season. 

Two more runs to end the inning gave the Presidents a 13-3 lead heading into the fifth. The Red & Black added three more runs before the end of the contest to secure the 16-5 win. 

For the game, Griffin recorded a career-best six RBI, the most by a President since Nick Vento had seven RBI against Earlham in May of 2017.  Joey Bolick (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) also had an outstanding day with two hits, two walks, two RBI and one run scored. 

On the mound, Santino Platt (Pittsburgh, Pa./OLSH) started and allowed three runs over 3.0 innings. Garrett Harstine (New Philadelphia, Ohio/New Philadelphia) picked up the win, his second of the year, by throwing a scoreless fourth. 

Henry Litman (Marietta, Ga./Walton) wrapped up the game with a scoreless seventh inning.

Game Two
The second game of the day mirrored the first, as it was fueled by the long ball. The Presidents again hit two homers, with Griffin hitting his second of the afternoon in the nightcap.  

W&J got out ahead early, taking a 2-0 lead after the first frame. Griffin and Crummer both tallied an RBI with a single and a sacrifice fly in back-to-back at-bats. 

The Red & Black's lead grew further in the fifth with a three-run bomb from Michael Zito (Nashville, Tenn./Hume-Fogg), the first of his collegiate career. Zito has reached base safely in each of his last four games. 

The Tomcats cut into the lead with runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. The Presidents answered quickly with Griffin's three-run dinger to right center, cementing an 8-2 triumph. 

Over the two games today, Griffin posted a whopping 10 RBI, taking the team lead in that category with 14. The senior catcher has reached base safely in six consecutive bouts. 

Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) joined Griffin with two hits in the nightcap. 
 
Sophomore pitcher Nick Drake (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) started game two and picked up his first collegiate win. The righty went 5.2 innings and struck out five while allowing just two runs. 

Mitchell Taufer (Washington, Pa./Bishop Canevin), Jansen Eichenlaub (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Clay Martin (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) combined to close out the final 3.1 innings by allowing no runs. 

The Red & Black continue conference play on Tuesday, March 26, with a 1 p.m. road doubleheader against Waynesburg.