GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team hit four home runs, collected 17 extra base hits and totaled 31 runs during a doubleheader sweep Saturday at Thiel College. 

The sweep improves the Presidents to 15-3 in conference play and 25-11 overall. The Tomcats fall to 5-13 in the league and 11-26 overall. 

Game One - W&J 15, Thiel 5 (8 Innings)

The Presidents scored six times in the fifth inning and four times in the eighth inning during a lopsided run-rule 15-5 victory in game one. 

With the score knotted at 2-2, W&J regained the lead on a RBI single by Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio / Marlington) in the fourth inning. 

W&J scored six times on six hits in the fifth to break things open. Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) ignted the rally when he connected on his first collegiate home run. The solo shot made it 4-2 Presidents. 

Four doubles in a five batters span extended the lead to 7-2. A two-run double by Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) capped the sequence. Two batters later, Dezenzo connected on his first collegiate home run. The long ball by the freshman made it 9-2 Presidents. 

Thiel responded with three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 9-5. 

W&J put the game away with six runs over the final three innings. The Presidents scored once in the sixth on a RBI single by Scout Zaas(Powell, Ohio / Wellington School) and added another on a RBI fielders choice by Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) in the seventh. 

An RBI single by Dezenzo and a two-run double down the right field line by Horvat helped extend the W&J lead to its final count at 15-5. 

Dezenzo led the way with four RBI, three hits and the home run. LaDuca finished with three hits, three RBI and three runs scored in the opener. Zaas added a pair of hits and four RBI. DiMatteo reached base four times, as he was hit by pitch three times. 

Jackson Denney (Atlanta, Ga./Mount Vernon Presbyterian) was credited with the win. He worked the first four innings and allowed one earned run. Ethan Boring (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) was credited with his second save after tossing four shutout innings in relief. 

Game Two - W&J 16, Thiel 3

Thiel scored once in the first and added another run in the fifth inning to take a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning. That is when things went sideways for the Tomcats. 

W&J, who had just two hits through the first five innings, scored 16 runs on 16 hits over the final four frames. 

The Presidents scored four runs in the sixth inning to take their first lead of game two. Dezenzo stroked a one-out double to get things going. Horvat followed with a one-out triple to score Dezenzo. DiMatteo followed with an RBI single through the drawn in infield to score Horvat to even the score at 2-2. Two batters later, Trevor Dean (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) doubled to deep right field to score DiMatteo and Zaas. 

In the seventh inning, Luke Virag (New Kensington, Pa. / Burrell) led off with a triple before giving way to pinch runner Zach Scherzer(Douglassville, Pa. / Daniel Boone), who later scored on a single by Horvat to make the score 5-2. 

W&J scored 11 times over the final two innings. Highlighting the inning was a two-run double by Dean, a two-run single by Sam Schuser (Fairport Harbor, Ohio / Fairport Harding) and a two-run home run by Dezenzo. The six-run eighth extended the W&H lead to 11-2. 

The Red and Black scored five more times in the ninth. Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) highlighted the frame with a pinch hit solo home run. 

Dean finished game two with three hits and four RBI. Dezenzo, Horvat and Zaas all recorded two hits in the nightcap. 

Brandon Bastian (Barto, Pa. / The Hill School) was credited with the win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief. 


On Deck: W&J heads into the final week of the regular season. The Presidents are scheduled to host Otterbein University for a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2. W&J then wraps up conference play with a home doubleheader against Allegheny for Senior Day on Saturday, May 6. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.