(Posted May 1, 2006)

Juniata 8, Mount Aloysius 2

HUNTINGDON, Pa. ? The Juniata College baseball team scored six runs over the final two innings to earn a comeback win in its regular-season finale as the Eagles topped Mount Aloysius College 8-2 in non-conference action in Huntingdon on Monday. Juniata raised its record to 28-10-1 with the victory while the Mounties fell to 11-23 overall.

With the game tied at two in the bottom of the seventh inning, Juniata pushed across four runs to break open the game. Zach Sternberg (McCaskey/Lancaster) drove an RBI single into centerfield to start the scoring in the inning, and Shawn McDonald (Bishop Canevin/Gibsonia) followed with a bases-loaded bunt single that gave Juniata a 4-2 lead. Then with two outs, Troy Beaver (Bellwood-Antis/Bellwood) dropped double down the leftfield line that scored a pair of runners, giving Juniata the 6-2 lead.

The hit was Beaver?s third of the day and 57th of the season, which sets a new Juniata record for hits in a season. He breaks the record of 56 which was set by Lucas Kelleher ?02 in 2002 and was matched last season by senior Will Russell (Tyrone/Tyrone).

The Eagles then tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. David Saintz (Titusville/Titusville) executed a straight steal of home to bring in the first run, and then an RBI single from Darren Hake (Red Lion/Red Lion) capped Juniata?s scoring.

After Juniata jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a first-inning RBI single from Dan Kauffman (Penn Manor/Conestoga), Mount Aloysius rallied with a pair of runs in the top of the second. An RBI single from Joey Hinton knotted the score at one, and a fielder?s choice from Trevor Anderson brought home the second run.

Juniata starter Paul Dunklebarger (State College/State College) was forced to work out of another jam in the third as Mount Aloysius strung together three hits in the inning, but were unable to score as Saintz threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning. After giving up three runs and seven hits through the first three innings, Dunklebarger settled in and kept the visitors off the scoreboard to claim his fourth win of the season. The sophomore tossed seven innings, allowing eight hits and two runs, one earned, while notching six strikeouts. Tyler Brown (Southern Huntingdon/Orbisonia) pitched two scoreless innings of relief.

Still trailing 2-1, Juniata started getting to Mounties starter Josh Ferry in the bottom of the sixth. With two down, Beaver knocked a single to center that scored Jesse Leonard (Shade/Johnstown), who had led off the inning with a single, that tied the score at two.

Ferry was tagged with the loss as he fell to 3-3 on the year. He surrendered six runs on 10 hits over seven innings of work, and recorded eight strikeouts, while also walking eight.

Mount Aloysius would make it interesting in the ninth as the visitors loaded the bases with two hits and a hit batter with just one out. Cliff Veverka then hit a sharp line drive to leftfield that Leonard ran down, and the Eagles doubled up the runner at third to end the game.

Kauffman added two hits with an RBI and a run scored for the Eagles while Leonard had a pair of hits and two runs scored and McDonald had two hits and an RBI.

Steve Paskowski, Tyler Trimbath and Hinton all had a pair of hits for the Mounties. Hinton had an RBI and a run scored on the game.

Juniata will be back in action on Thursday as the Eagles open play in the Commonwealth Conference postseason. The top-seed Eagles will face Lebanon Valley in the opening game of the double-elimination postseason, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.