HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Senior Zach Lipshitz went 5-for-9 with a triple and a pair of home runs for the day while junior Jeff Serin racked up 10 strikeouts in the second game as the Drew University baseball team split a Landmark Conference (LC) doubleheader at Juniata College on Saturday. The Eagles edged the Rangers 3-2 on a walk-off homer in the opener before Drew erupted for 18 hits and rolled to an 11-1 victory in the nightcap.
 
Game 1 Highlights
• The opener proved to be a pitcher's duel between Drew junior Pete Violante and Juniata's Gavin Grimaldi. The two hurlers combined to allow just one run over the first five innings.
• After they were blanked for five innings, the Rangers (9-9, 2-3 LC) broke through in the sixth, when Lipshitz blasted a solo homer to center.
• Drew went up 2-1 in the top of the seventh, when senior Eric DiPietro worked a one-out walk before scoring on a two-out double from classmate Jayson Mitch. However, Grimaldi escaped with a groundout.
• Violante (1-1) was brilliant for nearly his entire outing, tossing a three-up, three-down first before the Eagles scratched out an unearned run in the second. He went on to fire four straight perfect innings, retiring 13 in a row before issuing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh. Isaac Maclay then lifted a game-ending two-run homer to left-center.
 
Game 2 Highlights
• The second game was also close in the early going, and the Eagles led 1-0 after scoring another unearned run in the third versus junior starter Jeff Serin.
• The Rangers broke through versus starter Drew Harshbarger in the fourth, plating six runs on six hits. Lipshitz capped the big inning with a two-run homer to left.
• Drew added another run in the sixth, when Lipshitz tripled and was singled home by junior Jon Cocchio, making it 7-1.
• The Rangers put the game away with a seven-hit, four-run eighth, highlighted by a leadoff homer by DiPietro.
• Serin (3-0) scattered five singles over eight innings while allowing just two runners to reach third base.
• Senior Zach Luke came on to throw a scoreless ninth for Drew.
 
Top Performers
• Lipshitz missed the cycle by a double in the nightcap, finishing 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
• Every starter batted safely in the second game, when Cocchio went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Mitch, senior Mike Pettigrew, and DiPietro all slugged two hits.
• Violante allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out four.
• Serin reached double figures in strikeouts for his second-straight start.
 
Next Up
The Rangers and Eagles conclude their three-game series on Sunday with a single nine-inning game starting at noon.