Closing out a five-game schedule this week, the John Carroll University baseball team swept the Fighting Muskies of Muskingum University on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Streaks defeated the Fighting Muskies 10-3 prior to winning game two 9-5.

The sweep marks the Blue and Gold's fourth of the season, with three of them coming during conference play.

John Carroll has never before started its Ohio Athletic Conference schedule with a 6-0 record.

Game One
The Blue Streaks took advantage of the Muskingum errors in game one, with only two of their 10 runs being earned.

Dominic Mittiga got JCU on board in the first inning when he singled up the middle. An error by the Muskingum would advance the third baseman to second, but Mittiga kept going and made his way across home plate.

JCU added five more runs in their second at-bat, with all of the runs being results of RBI singles by Derek Penman, Patrick Keohane, and Mittiga.  Penman singled through the left side to score Justin Hanley, while Keohane and Mittiga's hits made their way to the outfield to add four more runs to make the score 6-0.

After each team exchanged a pair of runs in their next at-bats, the Fighting Muskies recorded their last run of the game to cut the Blue Streak lead to five (8-3). The JCU pitching staff would shut down the Fighting Muskies the rest of the way, allowing just two hits in the final five innings.

John Carroll's two runs in the sixth made the score the eventual final outcome of game. Mittiga scored Keohane on a sacrifice fly to center, followed by an RBI single by Aaron Zawadzki to bring around Sam Heaton.

Penman led the Blue Streak offense, going 3-4 with two runs scored. Keohane, Mittiga, and Zawadzki also chipped in two hits a piece.  

Duncan Cappar got the start for game one, earning his second win of the season (2-1) after surrendering all three runs in six innings of work. Sophomore John Merrill earned his first career save after finishing with five strikeouts in three Muskingum at-bats.

"Merrill was really good on the charts today and his handwriting was outstanding," said pitching Coach Tyler McCormick. "He gave us a good effort on his off day."



Game 2
John Carroll continued their offense in game two, taking a 3-0 lead through their first two at-bats. With bases loaded and nobody out, Zawadzki hit an RBI single to right field to score Keohane. Hanley then reached on a fielder's choice to bring in Heaton. Keohane then scored in the second off of an RBI single from Heaton.

The teams once again traded two runs in the third and fourth innings give the Blue and Gold a three-run advantage going into the fifth inning (5-2). But a three-run dinger by Hanley doubled the JCU lead in the sixth to bring the score to 8-2.

After a scoreless sixth inning, the Fighting Muskies cut the JCU lead in half. With runners on second and third with one out, an RBI single to center brought in two more runs for Muskingum.

Another scoreless inning gave Muskingum one last chance to regain the lead. After a sacrifice fly by Zawadzki brought in another run (9-4), the Fighting Muskies scored one last run after the batter walked with bases loaded. Jack Bennett then retired the last batter to end the game and secure the sweep for the Blue and Gold.

Heaton, Joe Charpentier, and Zawadzki finished the game tied for the team-highs in hits (2). Hanley also led the team in RBI with four.   

For going seven innings, Nate Wenson earned his third win of the season (3-1). Nicholas Michel and Bennett also split the final two innings. Michel allowed no hits or runs, while Bennett finished with one run and one hit.

Despite a strong performance by the John Carroll offense in both games, McCormick went on to also give credit to the pitchers. "Cappar and Wenson really set the tone on the mound today, going deep into the game with quality starts. Those two really gave our offense a chance to get into a rhythm and get ahead early."  

"Three straight sweeps is great, but we have a lot left to accomplish," said coach Ryan Nordquist. "Nobody wins the OAC title on April 6 and our guys know that. We're on to Heidelberg."

John Carroll will next host Heidelberg in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.