WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson baseball team secured a non-conference doubleheader sweep Wednesday afternoon over the visiting Otterbein University Cardinals in Washington at Ross Memorial Park.
 
The wins improve the Presidents to 27-11 overall. Otterbein, who is ranked fourth in the Region VII rankings, drops to 25-12 overall. 
 
Game One – W&J 6, Otterbein 1
 
The Presidents scored in four of the six frames to secure the game one win. W&J scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to stake claim to an early lead. 
 
Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) led off with a double and later scored on a failed pickoff attempt all the way from second place. Later in the inning, Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) doubled to left center to plate Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills) to make it 2-0.  
 
Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) ripped a leadoff double in the second before advancing to third on a fly out to centerfield in the next at bat. A timely liner up the middle from Ben Schuler (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) then scored Lehner to put W&J up 3-0 after two innings.
 
Neither team would score in the third as both teams were retired in order to quickly turnover into the fourth.
 
In the fourth inning, Otterbein would find the scoring column for the first and only time in the first game on a sacrifice fly by the catcher Ullom with bases loaded. W&J did a good job of limiting the damage as a fly out ended the threat with W&J still in front at 3-1.
 
The first two runners would get on base in the bottom of the fourth on a hit by pitch taken by Jake Stiehl (Reston, Va. / South Lakes) and walk taken by Lehner, consecutively. A sacrifice bunt would advance both runners before Schuler would line a single to the left fielder to bring home a pair of runs to extend the lead to 5-1. 
 
W&J would score once more in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back singles by Stiehl and Lehner put two runners on with no outs. An RBI double by LaDuca made the score 6-1. 
 
LaDuca, Stiehl, Lehner and Schuler each had two hits in the opener. W&J finished with four doubles as a team.
 
Brendan Cruz (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) picked up the win for the Presidents to improve to 3-1. Brandon Bastian (Barto, Pa./The Hill School) came in for the final three innings to record his second career save. Bastian struck out four, did not issue a walk and allowed no runs during a strong showing on the mound. 
 
Game Two – W&J 9, Otterbein 1
 
A six-run seventh inning helped the Presidents secure the game two victory and the sweep of the Cardinals. W&J outhit the Cardinals by a 12-7 margin. 
 
W&J would push runners across in the third, fifth, and seventh innings.
 
After reaching on a fielders choice, LaDuca stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Garth then smacked a double to right center to plate LaDuca for the game's first run.

Trailing by just a 1-0 margin, Otterbein loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning. However, Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) entered a struck out the Otterbein batter looking to escape the jam. 

The Presidents then scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to stretch the lead to 3-0. Back-to-back doubles by Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington School) made it 2-0. Brian Feldman (Gibsonia, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) followed with an RBI single to right center to plate pinch runner Paddy Hernjak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and extend the lead to 3-0.
 
Otterbein got on the board in the top of the seventh inning. A leadoff walk and a wild pitch eventually helped bring home a runner on a sac fly to center that made the score 3-1.
 
W&J would answer with a six-run rally in the bottom of the frame to put things out of reach. The first five Presidents reached in the seventh. 

A two-run double by Lehner was followed by a three-run home run by Feldman. The two hits helped extend the W&J lead to 8-1. The home run was the first of the collegiate career for Feldman. 
  
W&J reloaded the bases later in the inning and LaDuca made it 9-1 with a sac fly to center.
 
Garth, Lutz, and Feldman would each register two hits apiece to pace the Red & Black. Feldman also tallied the team high with four RBI.
 
Junior pitcher Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) would collect his first collegiate win in the outing. Hess tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Alex Tomsic (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) started and tossed three scoreless innings to open game two. Ethan Boring(Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) worked a clean ninth to finish out the victory.
 
Up Next: The Presidents travel to Allegheny College on Saturday, May 4 to close out the regular season. W&J needs a victory to secure the top seed in next week's PAC Tournament. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.