CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team traveled to Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday for a non-conference doubleheader. The Presidents claimed a 10-1 victory in game two to earn a split after falling in game one by a 9-1 score to the Spartans. 

The split puts W&J at 5-2 overall while CWRU is now 4-4 in 2023. 

Game One - CWRU 9, W&J 1

Missed opportunities offensively plagued the Presidents in game one. W&J finished with just one run despite eight hits in the opener. W&J loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second inning but came away empty handed after an inning-ending double play.

CWRU put up a five-spot in the bottom of the third. The Spartans took advantage of a walk and two hit batsman in the inning as they put up a crooked number. All five runs in the frame came with two outs. Trey Haley brought home three runs with a bases-clearing double for the Spartans. 

W&J tallied its lone run of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) roped a one-out double and scored on a RBI single up the middle by Sam Schuster (Fairport Harbor, Ohio/Fairport Harding). The Presidents had a chance to get closer in the top of the sixth, as they loaded the bases with one out. However, the Presidents grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the inning.

The host Spartans scored four times in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a commanding lead en route to victory. 

Lutz and Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) finished with two hits apiece to pace the Presidents game one efforts offensively. 

Ethan Marszalek (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes) started and suffered the loss on the mound in game one. The sophomore allowed five runs on five hits. He struck out three, walked two and hit two. Ethan Boring (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) and Mason Kolbe (Bradenton, Fla. / Out-of-Door Academy) tossed scoreless innings of relief out of the bullpen. 

CWRU leadoff hitter and catcher Jack Anderson went 3-for-4 at the plate for the hosts. 


Game Two - W&J 10, CWRU 1

Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford), a two-way threat, showed why he is one of the top all-around players in Division III baseball. He was the story in game two, as he finished with two hits and two RBI at the plate while also tossing 7.0 strong innings on the mound to propel the Presidents to the win. 

W&J scored five times in the top of the second inning. All of the damage was done after two outs. The Presidents loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit, as a hit by pitch and a pair of walks put the Presidents in business. That is when Horvat delivered a clutch two-run single to left on a full count pitch. The Horvat hit scored Dan Beistel (Canfield, Ohio / Canfield) and John Klein (Vienna, Va. / Madison) to give W&J the early lead. After a walk reloaded the bases, Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) came through with a bases-clearing double to left field on a 2-2 pitch. The Sante double made it 5-0 W&J. 

CWRU tallied a run in the bottom of the third but Horvat was able to escape major damage. Beistel smacked a two-run double to left field in the fifth to make it 7-1 Presidents. 

W&J was able to add another run in the seventh, as Beistel delivered another run-scoring double to make it 8-1. The Presidents closed the scoring in the top of the eighth inning with two more runs. Lehner singled home LaDuca for the first run of the inning before a wild pitch gave W&J its 10th run of game two. 

Horvat, Lehner and Beistel all collected two hits in the backend of the doubleheader. Lehner totaled four hits in the doubleheader. 

Beistel and Sante accounted for three RBI each while Horvat had two. W&J has hit by four pitches in the second game. 

Horvat allowed just one run on six hits in his 7.0 innings of work. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. Horvat improves to 2-1 on the season and 

Ben Pierce (Bel Air, Md. / John Carroll) and Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel) combined to record the final six outs as W&J finished off the victory. 

ON DECK: After playing six games over the past nine days, W&J is off from varsity action until Tuesday, March 14 when the Presidents host Geneva College for a Presidents' Athletic Conference opening doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. Both ends of the doubleheader will be nine inning frays.