The AU baseball team swept a doubleheader from Lock Haven on Saturday (Mar. 16) in Florida. The Eagles won the first game, 5-4 in eight innings and claimed the second game, 9-1. The Eagles are 10-4 and wind up their Southern trip on Sunday (Mar. 17) with a game against last year's national champion, West Chester.
In Saturday's first game, junior outfielder Alex Sortwell (San Mateo, Calif./Canada College) singled in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in Austin Erb (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) with the winning run. Erb started the inning with a single, got to second base on a fielder's choice and moved to third on an error. Shotwell was 3-for-4 in the game and Erb was 2-for-5.
Shortstop Austin Walts (Amherst, Ohio/Amherst Steele) and catcher John Broll (Mississagua, Ont./Genesee C.C.) had two hits each.
Right-hander Zach Botjer (Deshler, Ohio/Sinclair C.C.) picked up the win in relief. He pitched 1.2 innings and didn't allow a run.
Ashland had 13 hits.
In the second game, the Eagles pouned out 12 hits. That attack made life easy for freshman right-hander Ricky Krieger (New Philadelphia, Ohio). He went 6.1 innings and allowed one hit. Krieger gave up one run, walked five and struck out three. Freshman Sam Shafer (Bloomville, Ohio/Ohio State) got the last two outs.
Erb drove in a pair of runs. Tyler Gray (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), the AU first baseman, was 2-for-4. Ashland led, 4-0 after one inning.
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