PITTSBURGH, Pa. – March 20, 2020 – The Chatham baseball team fell victim to the Franciscan Barons in Sunday's double header at West Field, 8-2 in game one and 6-5 in game two. Chatham's record falls to 1-5 on the young season.
 
Game one did not start in Chatham's favor. The Barons put up four runs right out of the gates and only added on from there in the fourth inning with three more coming across. Chatham did not register a hit until the bottom of the fourth when sophomore Brandon Griener singled in senior Jonathan Scarsella.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Chatham loaded the bases with only one out. Freshman Corey Miller grounded out but drove in junior Nico Cuello to make the score 7-2. The Cougars could not add any more runs in the first, and the Barons tacked on another run off of an error.
 
Chatham defensively was riddled with errors in game one. The Cougars had six gaffes for the contest, two of which led to unearned runs. On the mound, senior Ryan Shawley went 5.0 innings, giving up 6 earned runs in a losing effort. Sophomore Cole Couchman pitched the last two innings and gave up just two Franciscan hits.
 
In terms of hitting, five Chatham players had one base hit, including Cuello, Scarsella, Griener, junior Mason Akers and freshman Justin Marshall. The latter of the five registered a pinch-hit base knock.
 
Game two started off similarly to the first. While the Cougars trailed 1-0 after 4 innings of work, Franciscan added six in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 6-0 lead. However, Chatham showed grit in the later innings and ripped off five runs.
 
The first two Cougar runs came in the sixth off of a stolen base by junior Hunter Swartz that allowed Griener to come around and score. Junior Caleb Lehman then launched a ground-rule double to center that brought home Swartz.
 
In the ninth, Chatham had hopes of making a miraculous comeback. It got things started with an RBI single from Marshall bringing home Miller. Then, with two outs, Griener rocketed a double to right center that scored Marshall Shawley. On the next pitch, however, Chatham grounded out and left Griener, the tying run, stranded at second.
 
Despite committing three more errors in the second game, Chatham's bats came out firing. The Cougars doubled up on their hit total from game one with 10 hits registered. On the bump, senior Austin Andonisio went 6.0 innings and surrendered all six Franciscan runs despite striking out a trio. Junior Erik Napolitano finished the final 3.0 innings and gave up just one hit.
 
Four Chatham players had two base hits, including Swartz, Miller, Griener and junior Caleb Lehman. The latter two players both had doubles, and Griener drove in two runs from his last at bat of the day.
 
Chatham and Franciscan lock up again for another double header tomorrow, March 21 in Steubenville, Ohio. First pitch for game one is slated for 1:00.