March 31, 2013

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EASTON, Pa. - Lehigh's starting pitcher Mike Burke held the Leopards to three hits in six scoreless innings as the Mountain Hawks managed a split of the four-game weekend series with an 8-0 win in Sunday's nightcap. The game was called after eight full innings because of rain. Earlier in the day, Lafayette came away with a 10-5 victory.

Lehigh racked up 14 hits and were led offensively by Casey Turner and John Elson, who had three apiece. Elson, Tim McCay, and Joe Abeln each had two RBI.

The visitors sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and scored four runs on Leopards' left-handed starter Toby Schwartz. Justin Pacchioli led off the game with a double before the next three batters reached safely, capped by Joe Abeln's RBI single to left that made it 2-0. After a strikeout of Connor Faust, Elson and McKay each brought home runs with a single and a fielder's choice, respectively.

Lehigh's starting pitcher Burke cruised through the first three innings, only allowing a single to Campbell Lipe the first time through the Lafayette order. After Schwartz used nine pitches in a 1-2-3 top of the third, Burke worked around a two-out walk to Andrew Santomauro, preserving Lehigh's early 4-0 cushion.

Following a scoreless inning of relief by Derek Gussaroff, Kevin Casey punched a single through the right side and Lipe was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fourth. A fly ball out by Parker Hills moved Casey up to third, but Lipe was picked off at first base and Thomas Dunleavy struck out swinging on the next pitch to erase the scoring opportunity for Lafayette.

The score stayed 4-0 in favor of the Mountain Hawks until the sixth, when three consecutive hits chased Gussaroff from the game and Lehigh pushed its advantage to 5-0. The senior righty twirled two scoreless frames before being charged with one run on five hits and struck out one. Out of the bullpen came freshman Ryan Callanan, who limited Lehigh to just one run in the inning with three straight outs.

With one away and men on first and second after Andrew Ruck singled through the middle and Casey was hit by a pitch, Lipe came to the dish. A ball in the dirt got away from McCay in front of the plate, but he recovered to throw out Ruck at third base for the second out. Burke walked the next two hitters to load the bases before he recovered and got Dunleavy to ground into a fielder's choice and an easy force out at third.

Lehigh piled on three more in the top of the eighth after Thomas O'Malley tossed a scoreless seventh inning out of Lehigh's bullpen. O'Malley fired two shutout innings in relief of Burke, who ended up scattering three hits in his six innings. He walked three and fanned three others in the win.

Lafayette returns to the diamond on Tuesday when it hosts La Salle in the Liberty Bell Classic. First pitch from Kamine Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m.