DAVENPORT, Fl. – Chatham Baseball (3-4, 0-0 PAC) swept their doubleheader on Sunday against Bluffton (0-2, 0-0 HCAC) by final scores of 3-2 and 3-1.
The Cougars trailed early in game one after Bluffton put a run on the board in the top of the first inning. Chatham responded in the second inning when a
Nick Merola double scored
Peter Tadic. A Bluffton error then allowed Merola to score, giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Gianni Cantini shut down the Beavers' offense until the sixth inning, when they tied the game on an RBI double. As the home team, Chatham got the last at-bat in bottom of the seventh inning.
Caleb Jones laced a double to start the inning and was pinch run for by
Solomon Walker. Tadic then laid down a bunt a bunt to move Walker to third, but Bluffton's throw to first base got away to allow Walker to score and give the Cougars the victory.
Cantini went six innings on the mound, giving up just one earned run on three hits and striking out nine.
Cason Bennett entered the game with the score tied 2-2 and earned the win, allowing no runs or hits in an inning pitched with one strikeout. Merola went 1-2 with an RBI and scored a run. Jones and
Angelo DeLeonardis had the other two Chatham hits in the first game.
Game two was a pitcher's duel, with neither starter giving up a run in the first four innings. The Cougars broke through in the fifth, scoring 2 runs on an
Eddie Rueda base hit before a Jones sac fly brought DeLeonardis across the plate for their 3
rd run of the inning. The Beavers got a run back in the sixth, but the Cougar combo of
Cason Bennett,
Connor Carr-Matthews,
Ethan Botkin and
Tyler Cote held Bluffton to just the 1 run in seven innings.
Botkin got the win on the mound, tossing 3 innings and allowing no hits and no earned runs with four strikeouts. Bennett was the game two starter, going 3 innings and allowing no runs on three hits.
Tyler Cote got the save by pitching a scoreless seventh inning and allowed no hits.
Devin Fluhmann went 1-2 with a walk and run scored for Chatham. DeLeonardis and
Cooper Baxter were both 1-3 at the plate and each scored a run.
Eddie Rueda was 1-4 with 2 RBI for the Cougars.
Chatham's next game in Florida will be a 10 a.m. start on Tuesday against Concordia-Chicago.