(Posted February 24, 2006)

Lynchburg 15, Juniata 2
York (Pa.) 8, Juniata 1

ATLANTA, Ga. ? It was not the start to the season that the Juniata College baseball team had in mind as the Eagles dropped a pair of games on the opening day of the 2006 Rawlings Classic in Atlanta, Ga. Juniata fell by a 15-2 score to Lynchburg in the opener, and then suffered a 8-1 set-back to York (Pa.) in the second game.

The Eagles never led in game one as Lynchburg scored a run in the top of the second and then pushed across four runs off of starter Andrew Michanowicz (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona) in the third to take a commanding 5-0 edge. An RBI single from Steven Scott was the big blow in the inning.

Lynchburg added another three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, with all of the runs coming off reliever Andrew Snyder (Punxsutawney/Punxsutawney) who came on in relief in the fourth inning. Justin Kelly had RBI singles in both innings, which gave Lynchburg an 11-0 lead.

Juniata finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth, getting a pair of runs on RBI singles from David Saintz (Titusville/Titusville) and Walt Goedkoop (Manheim Township/Lancaster). Any attempt at a comeback was quelled when Lynchburg added two runs in each of the final two innings to claim the 15-2 victory.

Michanowicz was charged with the loss for Juniata, while Jason Kelly earned the win as he pitched 5 1-3 innings allowing two runs on six hits. Lynchburg out-hit Juniata 17-6 in the game and had six extra-base hits in the contest.

Goedkoop led the Eagles as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the game. Josh Walker and Lucas Jones each had three hits for Lynchburg.

Juniata claimed its first lead of the season when the Eagles pushed across one run in the top of the first against York. Goedkoop drove home Dan Kauffman (Penn Manor/Conestoga) with an RBI single to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

York countered with a run in the bottom of the second, and then scored three in the bottom of the third to take a 4-1 edge. A pair of RBI singles from Jed Vess and Dennis Maxim along with a Juniata error led to the three runs.

The Eagles hung in, staying within three as starter Cody Zong (Lewistown/McVeytown) allowed four runs and six hits over five innings though he was saddled with the loss. Juniata could not break through offensively against York hurler Chris Brower who went allowed just one run and seven hits over seven innings.

The Spartans put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh when they pushed across four runs on four hits. A two-RBI single from Bryan Bednarczyk and a two-RBI double from Eric Velez provided the runs.

Jesse Leonard (Shade/Johnstown) was 4-for-4 in the game for the Eagles while Goedkoop added another two hits. Four York players finished with two hits in the game.

Juniata gets back into action on Saturday as the Eagles will look for their first win against tournament host Emory University.

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