Baseball finishes 6-1 at Gene Cusic Classic

The Muskingum baseball team finished with a 6-1 record at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.

Saturday, March 11 - The Muskingum baseball team capped their week at the Gene Cusic Classic with a 12-11 walk-off win over Bluffton on Saturday afternoon. The Muskies finish 6-1 in Florida, and have now won six straight games.

Muskingum got the scoring started, tallying four runs in the first inning to build an early lead. However, the lead didn't last long as Muskingum gave up five runs in the second inning to fall behind 5-4. In the third, Muskingum registered two more runs to recapture a 6-5 lead. Muskingum added three more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 9-5, but the Beavers would tie the contest again with a four run seventh inning. After both teams tallied two more runs apiece, Muskingum headed to the bottom of the ninth tied at 11. With two runners on and one out, freshman Louie Hess stepped to the plate and delivered a walk-off RBI single up the middle to lift Muskingum to the 12-11 victory. Hess' walk-off was the second Muskingum walk-off win in as many days following sophomore Tobie Teke's walk-off homer that sent Muskingum to a 17-15 win over Pitt.-Bradford on Friday.

At the plate, Muskingum was led by sophomore Weston Melick who finished 5-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored. Junior Ryan Schwartz tallied a 4-for-6 line with one RBI and one run scored, while freshman Sam Palmieri notched a 3-for-4 line with three runs scored, two walks, and one RBI. Senior Dominic Gorence finished 3-for-6 with one RBI and one run scored, while sophomore Travis Reynolds notched a line of 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

On the mound, senior Clark Jennings recorded his second win of the year after tossing two and one-thirds innings in relief. Jennings gave up two earned runs and struck out two batters. Freshman Jake Roshau got the start for Muskingum, throwing six and two-thirds innings and striking out three batters.

Friday, March 10 - The Muskingum baseball team swept a pair of games on Friday afternoon to increase their winning streak to five. The Muskies used a walk-off two-run homer from sophomore Tobie Teke to down Pitt.-Bradford 17-15 in game one, then dominated Baruch 19-7 in game two to cruise to victory.

In game one, the Muskies found themselves trailing 3-0 after the first inning. Despite the early deficit, Muskingum was able to bounce back and tie the game at four apiece in the fourth inning. After the Muskies led 7-4 through six innings, the Panthers used nine runs across the next two frames to open up a 13-7 lead. Muskingum wouldn't go away, tallying six runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score once more at 13 all. After Pitt.-Bradford scored two runs in the top of the ninth, Muskingum was able to tie the score again at 15 with two outs. With one runner on, sophomore Tobie Teke stepped to the plate and delivered a walk-off two-run moonshot over the right field wall to deliver Muskingum the victory. Teke's walk-off blast was the team's first walk-off home run since the 2004 season.

Muskingum was led by sophomore Wyatt Reeder who finished 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Austin Lippolis turned in a 4-for-6 line which included two RBI and two runs scored as well, while freshman Sam Palmieri finished 4-for-6 with two RBI. Freshman Louie Hess registered a 3-for-3 line with two runs scored and an RBI, while sophomore Tobie Teke went 2-for-5 with four RBI and one run scored. On the mound, Muskingum was led by freshman Blake Jodrey who earned his first collegiate win. Jodrey tossed one inning and gave up two runs. Freshman Jason Murphy tossed six innings in relief for Muskingum, giving up three earned runs on the day.

Game two saw Muskingum trailing early one once more, falling behind 6-2 after the first two innings. Despite the early deficit, Muskingum erupted for 11 runs in the fifth inning, headlined by a grand slam from freshman Sam Palmieri, to take a 13-6 lead. Muskingum poured on six more runs in the eighth inning to cruise to a 19-7 win.

The Muskies were led by freshman Weston Melick who finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Senior Allex Santacroce went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while freshman Sam Palmieri notched a 2-for-4 line including his grand slam in the fifth inning. Sophomore Tobie Teke stayed hot, tallying two hits, three RBI, and two runs scored; while sophomore Wyatt Reeder registered two knocks and two RBI. Freshman Max Vosters earned his first collegiate win on the mound after throwing five innings in relief and striking out five batters.

Thursday, March 9 - The Muskingum baseball team dominated Rockford 15-0 behind a dominate outing from freshman Lane Goetz on the mound. Goetz tossed seven scoreless innings and struke out eight batters en route to his first collegiate win.

Muskingum scored one run in each of the first three innings to snag the early lead. After neither team scored for the next four innings, Muskingum erupted for 12 runs in the eighth to push their lead to 15. After Goetz's departure following the seventh inning, sophomore Brock Pfister pitched a shutout eighth inning, and freshman Trent Youngeberg tossed a scoreless ninth to secure the win for Muskingum.

At the plate, Muskingum was led by junior Quinten Collins who finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Senior Dominic Gorence notched a 3-for-5 line with two RBI and two runs scored, while freshman Sam Palmieri went 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. Sophomore Weston Melick notched a 2-for-5 line with two RBI and a run scored; while sophomore Tobie Teke went 1-for-3 with two RBI, two runs scored, and two walks. Junior Peyton Carr finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while junior Gavin Hawk tallied a 2-for-5 line with an RBI and two runs scored.

Tuesday, March 7 - The Muskingum baseball team topped Haverford 6-5 in a thrilling contest on Tuesday morning to improve to 2-1 at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, junior Peyton Carr stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a clutch RBI single to push Muskingum ahead for good. Senior Clark Jennings earned his first win on the mound this season for Muskingum after throwing one and one-third innings for Muskingum and not allowing any hits.

At the plate, Muskingum was led by junior Ryan Schwartz who notched a 2-for-4 line with two RBI and two runs scored. Schwartz opened the scoring in the contest with a two RBI single in the first inning to give Muskingum the early lead. Carr finished 1-for-1 with his clutch pinch hit RBI single, and sophomore Austin Lippolis also delivered a 1-for-1 line after knocking a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle in the seventh inning for Muskingum. Senior Allex Santacroce tallied a 1-for-4 line with an RBI, while senior Dominic Gorence finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Freshman Blake Jodrey got the start on the mound for Muskingum, tossing five innings and giving up two earned runs.

Monday, March 6 - The Muskie baseball team dominated North Central (Minn.) 27-3 to improve to 1-1 at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

Muskingum was led by freshman Jake Roshau who improved to 2-0 on the season after giving up one run in five innings pitched, and striking out five batters. Trent Youngeberg also pitched solid in relief for Muskingum, tossing one and one-thirds innings and striking out three Rams batters.

At the dish, Muskingum was led by freshman Jackson Duchesne who finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Weston Melick finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI; while sophomore Tobie Teke notched a 2-for-3 line with a triple, three RBI, and two runs scored. Junior Tyler Arter blasted a pinch-hit three run home run for Muskingum in the sixth inning, while senior Alex Santacroce went 2-for-3 from the dish with two RBI and two runs scored.

Sunday, March 5 – The Muskingum baseball team fell 12-6 to Hiram in the team's first game at the Gene Cusic Classic.

The Muskies were led by senior Dominic Gorence who finished 3-for-4 on the day. Gorence tallied two runs scored, and he also knocked in one RBI. Junior Quinten Collins notched a 2-for-4 line with a double and an RBI, while sophomore Weston Melick finished 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Hiram was led by Kobe Hunter who finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored.

Junior Jaxon Rinkes started on the mound for Muskingum, pitching one inning and giving up two earned runs. Freshman Jason Murphy tossed five innings in relief for Muskingum, striking out three batters and giving up four runs. Jack Conley picked up the win for the Tarriers after tossing six innings, giving up two earned runs, and striking out two batters.