(Posted April 5, 2008)

KINGS POINT, N.Y. -- Juniata College senior Dan Kauffman (Conestoga, Pa./Penn Manor) belted three home runs to help pace the Eagles to a 5-0 and 10-1 doubleheader sweep over the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Saturday afternoon in Kings Point, N.Y. Kauffman clubbed a solo round-tripper to leadoff the sixth inning of game one, widening Juniata's lead to 3-0. The Eagles (14-7, 7-0 Landmark) scored their first run - and what was ultimately the game-winner - in the third inning when Kevin Small (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) singled in Shawn McDonald (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Carnevin). Juniata tacked on another single run in the fifth on Andrew Kriss' (Forest Hill, Md./John Carroll) RBI single up the middle to score Dane Ott (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport). The Eagles added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning, to complete the shutout victory. Kriss stroked a one-out double into left-center, and was forced across by consecutive walks to Adam Spadafora (Asbury, N.J./Pennington School), Small, and Kauffman. Greg Hoffman (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) plated a second run with his sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Spadafora. Juniata southpaw Andrew Snyder (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney) struck out seven while pitching a two-hit complete game. Snyder lost his no-hit bid in the fifth inning on a single through the left side by USMMA's Alex Wolfe, after retiring the first 10 Mariner batters he faced. William Richey took the loss for the Mariners; he allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits and three walks while striking out four. In game two of the doubleheader, the Eagles put up runs in each of the first four innings on their way to the 10-1 rout of the Mariners. Kauffman crushed a two-run homer to center field in the first inning, also scoring Spadafora who reached on a single through the right side. Kriss doubled home McDonald in the second inning to put Juniata up 3-0, and John Martinez (Mt. Union, Pa./Mt. Union) had a base knock in the third to plate Kauffman, who got aboard with an intentional walk. Spadafora lined a single down the right field line in the fourth inning, scoring Kriss from first base. USMMA finally broke out of its scoring slump in the fifth inning with one run. Dylan Tumblin reached on a lead-off single, and advanced all the way to third on the next batter when a Wolfe line drive to third was thrown away by Steve Wilk (Blairsville, Pa./Blairsville). Tumblin was replaced by pinch runner Patrick Boyle, who eventually scored on Jared Fassnacht's RBI single up the middle. Juniata responded with a five-run uprising in the sixth, thanks to a two-run single by Small that scored Kriss and Kyle Saxman (York, Pa./York Suburban), and a second two-run shot over the center field fence by Kauffman that plated Small. Eagle starter Tyler Clifford (Homer City, Pa./Homer City) scattered four hits while striking out four in the complete game victory, in which he allowed no earned runs. Merchant Marine's Keith Heine surrendered 10 earned runs on 12 hits in the loss. Juniata will complete the three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Kings Point, N.Y., with a single nine-inning game starting at 1:00 p.m. -30-

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