(Posted April 10, 2009)

SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- A four-run first inning for Juniata College, keyed by Dane Ott's (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) two-run single, sparked the Eagles to a 6-0 win over Susquehanna University, allowing Juniata to take away a split in its Landmark Conference doubleheader against Crusaders on Friday at Bollinger Field.

Juniata (9-14, 3-8 Landmark) dropped a 3-1 decision to league-leading Susquehanna in game one of the twinbill, going up against Crusader ace John Lunardi.

In game two, Juniata loaded the bases on the first three batters, setting the stage for a pair of runs on Ott's base hit to center field. Greg Hoffman (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) plated another run on a sacrifice fly to right field, and Ian Thorne (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) capped the scoring by scoring Ott on a single to left field.

Juniata added another run in the third, when John Martinez (Mount Union, Pa./Mount Union) reached on a single to right, and scored on Hoffman's sac fly to left field. Martinez scored the Eagles' final run in the fifth inning, when he reached on a single to right, and came home on an Andrew Kriss (Forest Hill, Md./John Carroll) single to left.

Junior righthander Tyler Clifford (Home City, Pa./Homer City) limited the Crusaders to just four hits with five strikeouts and no walks in the complete game victory, earning the win for the Eagles and improving his record to 4-2. Susquehanna starter Kevin Riordan allowed six runs, four earned, on seven hits with two walks and no strikeouts.

Susquehanna (17-9, 10-3 Landmark) scored all its runs in the first two innings of game one, including two runs in the opening frame on one hit, two walks, and a Juniata error. The Crusaders' run in the second came on an RBI triple off the bat of Kurt Yannelli, after leadoff hitter Don Kirkland reached on a single.

Juniata's only run of the game came in the sixth with Adam Spadafora (Asbury, N.J./Pennington School) getting aboard on a double to right field, and crossing on Ott's double to center.

Eagle starter John Love (Loysburg, Pa./Northern Bedford) allowed two earned runs on five hits with three walks against four strikeouts over six innings, falling to 1-3. Lunardi, last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III Pitcher of the Week, yielded six hits with six strikeouts in the complete game win. The Juniata run he allowed in the sixth ended his streak of 23 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

Juniata and Susquehanna will conclude their three-game Landmark Conference series on Saturday, April 11, at 12:00 p.m.

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