PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Chatham Baseball (24-10, 10-8 PAC) continued its homestand, taking on Waynesburg (11-25, 2-16 PAC) on Wednesday for a conference doubleheader. The Cougars swept both games, winning game one, in comeback fashion, 8-5, and taking game two 17-2, in 7 innings.
The Yellow Jackets struck first in the top half of the opening inning, going up 1-0. The Cougars responded in the bottom half after Eddie Rueda reached safely to force home Angelo DeLeonardis, who got aboard with a leadoff single. A Cooper Baxter sacrifice fly drove in Rueda, and the Cougars quickly regained the lead. In the top of the third inning, the Yellow Jackets tallied four runs, making it 5-2. Chatham would chip away, scoring one run in both the fourth and sixth innings, to claw back within one run. Keegan McGraw drove in both runs via a sacrifice fly and a double down the left field line. The Cougars would break the game open in their half of the seventh inning, scoring 4 runs, highlighted by a Caleb Jones RBI single. A pair of scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth clinched the Cougars victory.
Keegan McGraw led the way offensively, driving in 2 RBI. Caleb Jones had a productive game, collecting two hits, including a triple, 1 RBI, and one run scored. Cooper Baxter scored twice and drove in one, adding a hit by pitch. On the mound, Gianni Cantini earned his 5th win of the season, going 7 strong innings with 1 earned run while striking out 5. Ethan Botkin came out of the pen, earning his 4th save of the season, throwing 2 scoreless innings and limiting the Yellow Jackets to 1 hit.
In game two, the Cougars' offense came out firing on all cylinders, putting up 10 runs in the first innings, 6 of which crossed before recording a single out. After the first Cougars reached safely, Eddie Rueda lined a single to plate one. Three batters later, Hayden Woodward cleared the bases with a screaming double down the left field line. The inning was capped off by an Eddie Rueda grand slam, his 1st homerun of the season. After surrendering a run in the top of the second inning, the Cougars responded with one run in the bottom half of the second, four runs in the third, and two runs in the fourth, to clinch the lopsided victory. The Cougars third inning rally was highlighted by a Cooper Baxter RBI single, a Keegan McGraw RBI double, and a 2 RBI single by Devin Fluhmann.
All 9 Cougars starters recorded at least a hit, with Eddie Rueda leading the way. He finished with 2 hits, including the homerun, and 5 RBIs while scoring 2 runs himself. Cooper Baxter continued his productive afternoon, collecting a team-high 3 hits, driving in 2 RBI, scoring 2 times, and stealing a base. Hayden Woodward drove in 3 RBI, and Matt Brandt added 2 RBI. Devin Fluhmann stole 2 bases, collecting 3 hits and earning 2 RBI. On the mound, Cooper Baxter went 4 strong innings, earning his 2nd win of the season. Matt Kossey, Kevin Bender, and Nick Martin shut down the Yellow Jackets, throwing 1 inning each out of the pen. They stuck out a combined 3 batters, allowing just 1 run over the final three innings of play.
The Cougars' homestand continues on Saturday, April 25th. Chatham Baseball hosts W&J for a senior day doubleheader at historic West Field. First pitch is set to fly at 11 am.
