MORGANTOWN, W.Va.- The Mountaineer baseball team (5-9) faced off with cross conference opponent the California (PA) Vulcans (11-2) in a nonconference doubleheader on Saturday (Mar. 15).
Game One: Cal (Pa.) 6, Mansfield 5
Austin Lewis made his fourth start of the year in game one as he took the mound for the Mounties. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and two walks while striking out four batters.
In the top of the second, the Mountaineers struck first, thanks to an RBI groundout by Kahale Burns, which scored Cole Serfass after he led off the inning with a single.
In the bottom of the second, Lewis struck out the Vulcans' five-hitter to record the 200th strikeout of his career, becoming the ninth player in program history to achieve this milestone.
Mansfield doubled their lead in the fourth with an RBI single by Ryan Sekulski, bringing in Ryan Scott.
Cal (Pa.) responded in the bottom half of the second with an unearned run, cutting the Mountie lead to 2-1.
Jacob Houtz extended the lead in the fifth, launching a two-run blast over the right field wall for a 4-1 advantage over the Vulcans.
Lewis kept them scoreless from the second inning through the sixth, and Mike Biuso added an insurance run in the top of the seventh after his double and steal of third, scoring on an error by the Cal (Pa.) catcher.
Luke Raho came in out of the bullpen to relieve Lewis in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and one out as Mansfield held a 5-1 lead.
The Vulcans scored three runs on two hits, aided by an error from the Mountaineer defense that could have resulted in a game-ending double play, narrowing the score to 5-4.
A sac fly tied the game at five, forcing extra innings in game one of the Saturday doubleheader. In the bottom of the eighth, Cal (Pa.) walked it off with an RBI single to steal game one.
Game Two: Cal (Pa.) 4, Mansfield 0
Shane Stossel took the mound in game two for the Mountaineers, completing four innings while giving up four hits and allowing two earned runs.
The Vulcans got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second with an RBI fielder's choice, taking an early 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Cal (Pa.) added two more runs without recording a hit, extending their lead to 3-0.
An RBI groundout by the Vulcans increased their lead to 4-0 as they headed into the final inning.
Although the Mountaineers' pitchers performed well, allowing just three earned runs, the offense struggled, managing only one hit throughout game two.
UP NEXT:
Mansfield begins conference play next weekend, March 21, as they travel to Kutztown on Friday after for a doubleheader with the Golden Bears. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
