LATROBE, Pa. – March 13, 2020 – After more than a year without action on the diamond, the Chatham baseball team took the field for the first time in 2021. The Cougars split the season-opening series with Saint Vincent, dropping the first game 4-1 and claiming the second contest 12-5.
Game one was a defensive outing between Saint Vincent's pitcher and senior skipper
Ryan Shawley. Through the first four innings neither team could get a run. Shawley finished with seven strikeouts, six through those four scoreless innings.
Junior
Caleb Lehman drove in the game's first run with a two-out single down the right side which scored classmate
Hunter Swartz. Lehman and senior
Jonathan Scarsella both went ¾ in game one, with the latter notching a double and two stolen bases.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, Saint Vincent pulled out a big inning in the sixth driving in all four of its runs. Chatham couldn't find an answer in the top of the seventh, thus taking the 4-1 loss in game one.
Despite outhitting the Bearcats in game one 9-3, Chatham committed three errors in the field, one of which drove in SVC's third run.
Game two was more of an offensive affair. Saint Vincent took a 3-1 lead after two innings of work, and Chatham struck back two innings later with four runs coming across. The score remained tied after four innings of work, but Chatham went on the offensive from then on.
Freshman Corey Miller hit what turned out to be the game-winning single to score Lehman in the fifth. The sixth inning led to five runs off of two sings. Scarsella singled in sophomore
Cole Couchman and junior
Mason Akers, and Lehman hit a three-run home run to drive in Scarsella and Swartz. The final run in the top of the ninth was thanks in part to a wild pitch, scoring Miller.
The Cougars' bats came out firing in game two with 13 hits and two doubles, one for Swartz and another for sophomore
Brandon Griener. Senior
Austin Andonisio got the start on the bump and went 4.0 innings, striking out three. Sophomore
Eric Paulin got the win after pitching 2.1 innings, striking out four and not allowing any runs.
Chatham and Saint Vincent tango at West Field tomorrow, March 14 for another doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.