AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The University of Scranton baseball team continued its strong play, particularly on the pitching mound, while sweeping a doubleheader against Houghton College, 3-2 in 12 innings and 12-2, on Thursday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Park. 

The Royals (12-7) have now won six straight and seven of their last eight. They complete their Florida trip with a 6-1 mark.

Scranton won the opener thanks to six strong innings of relief from junior righty Chris Rom (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and sophomore righty Josh Bayzick (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area). Rom tossed four innings, allowing one run on four hits. Bayzick earned the win by holding Houghton (4-10) in check for the final two innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. 

The Royals' got the winning rally started in the 12th when freshman catcher Dominick Gulius (Laflin, Pa./Coughlin) singled with one out. After the second out, junior third baseman Mike Trabulsi (Malverne, N.Y./Chaminade) delivered a single, moving Gulius to second. Sophomore first baseman Ross Danzig (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) then looped an RBI single to right to score Gulius.

The teams traded runs in the 10th with Scranton going ahead, 2-1, when Gulius scored on an RBI sac fly by sophomore third baseman Michael Umerich (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights). Houghton tied it in the bottom half with a leadoff double followed by an RBI single. 

Senior lefty Corey Gorman (Laflin, Pa./Coughlin) allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out 11 over the first six innings. Senior catcher Michael Amaturo (Rye, N.Y./Rye) had three hits, including a double, and senior shortstop Tim LeCompte (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) singled twice and stole a base.

In the second game, Scranton jumped ahead with a run in the first and took control with four more in the second and two in the third. 

LeCompte tripled twice, scored twice, drove in two runs and stole a base. Trabulsi doubled, scored three times and drove in a pair, and Umerich and Gulius each had two RBIs.

Sophomore righty Matt Calamoneri (Hillborough, N.J./Hillsborough) allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out four over six innings for the win. Freshman lefty Ashton Short (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) struck out two in the final inning to complete the one-hitter. 

The Royals are back in action on Monday, April 1, when they travel across town to face Marywood University at 3 p.m.

--ROYALS--