STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team (25-8, 15-1) swept the Franciscan Barons (11-20, 5-11) Wednesday afternoon. The Presidents took game one by a score of 9-2 and rattled off a 24-9 victory to run-rule the Barons in game two in seven innings.
 
Six Presidents had four hits in the doubleheader. Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) launched a home run in each game, compiling a total eight RBIs on the day. Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington School) drove in five W&J baserunners in game two with three hits including one double. Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) led the Presidents in game one with three hits.
 
Game 1 – W&J 9, Franciscan 2
The Presidents got on the board early and often in game one of the series with the Barons. Meier smacked an RBI double in the top of the first to give the Presidents a 1-0 lead.  
 
The next four runs scored in game one were earned by way of home runs to left field. Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) launched a solo homer in the second inning to make the lead 2-0. Dezenzo extended the lead to 4-0 with a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Meier capped the long-ball train in the sixth inning, as his solo homer pushed the lead to 5-0.
 
Following the Barons first score of the game in the bottom of the sixth, W&J added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings to finish off the 9-2 victory. John Klein (Vienna, Va./Madison), Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) and Brian Feldman (Gibsonia, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) all batted in runs over the final two innings.
 
Freshman right-hander Erik Streussnig (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) pitched six strong innings. Streussnig did not allow an earned run and held the Barons to just two hits as he improved to 6-1 on the season. Brandon Bastian (Barto, Pa./The Hill School) worked 2.0 innings of relief with two punchouts. Alex Tomsic (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) closed the game in the ninth, fanning one batter.
 
Game 2 – W&J 24, Franciscan 9 (7 innings)
W&J scored 24 runs in the nightcap victory, tying their sixth most runs scored all time in a single game throughout program history. The output is the most since W&J scored 23 runs in a game twice during the 2017 season. 
 
W&J added eight runs in the first two innings. Singles from Dezenzo, Feldman and Zaas scored five baserunners. A Dezenzo homer drove in three in the second as the offensive onslaught briefly paused, 8-1.
 
After the Barons added two runs in the bottom of the second, W&J continued to add runs in the top of the third. Doubles by Dezenzo and Meier scored a run each. A Feldman RBI single elevated the W&J lead to 12-3.
 
Two-run doubles by Zaas and Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) ran up the W&J lead to 16-3 in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.
 
Freshman Kody Carver (Wintersville, Ohio/Steubenville Central Catholic) picked up his first career RBI in his first career at bat during the sixth inning, pushing the lead to 18-3. In the bottom of the sixth, the Barons reduced the W&J lead to nine with a six-run inning, 18-9.
 
W&J proceeded to replicate Franciscan's run output I the previous inning en route to the 24-9 run-rule victory. Tommy Dietrich (Davidsonville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) batted in two baserunners on a single to left field. John Klein (Vienna, Va./Madison), Ben Schuler (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), and Carver all also batted in a run each in the top of the seventh.
 
Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) picked up the win for the Presidents in game two, working 2.0 scoreless innings with three punchouts. Nolan moves to 3-1 on the year. Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Jake Stiehl (Reston, Va./South Lakes) each worked a scoreless inning of work in relief.
 
W&J returns back to Ross Memorial Park to face the Chatham Cougars this Saturday (April 26). The Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader is set to start at 1:00 p.m.