WASHINGTON – Behind a pair of strong pitching performances by Andrew Carroll and Adam Schroth, CUA swept a doubleheader against Juniata on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals took game one 12-1 and then earned an 8-0 shutout in the nightcap.
In game one, CUA wasted little time in getting a lead. The Cardinals scored four times in the first inning, beginning with a Tommy Little walk and Tim Mierzwa bunt single.
Marc Hanna then singled home Little for a 1-0 CUA lead. Two batters later, Colin McCarthy drove in Mierzwa and Hanna with a single to make it 3-0. Dave Grear added an RBI single of his own to close out the first inning scoring.
Juniata got on the board with a single run in the third, but CUA came back with a single run in the fourth to up its lead to 5-1. McCarthy ripped a double down the left field line to plate Mierzwa for the Cardinals run.
CUA then added four runs in the fifth, including one on a Juniata error and three on RBI singles by Little, Matt Grieb, and McCarthy.
The Cardinals put the game out of reach with a three-run sixth, with Kory Smigocki driving in one run, Little driving in the second and Mierzwa doubling home the third.
Carroll went six innings to earn the win for CUA, striking out four and allowing only four hits during that time, before turning it over to Brian Cahill, who threw one perfect inning.
Chris Fulton suffered the game one loss, allowing nine runs on 13 hits in 5.0 innings.
CUA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game two with a pair of runs in the first inning. Little walked to get things started and Mierzwa followed with a double. Grieb was then hit by a pitch to load the bases, and two batters later, Mark Kalokitis was hit by a pitch to force in the Cardinals first run.
A wild pitch then allowed Mierzwa to cross, giving CUA a 2-0 lead.
CUA broke the game open with five runs in the second, beginning with a Chris McCloud double. A Juniata error allowed Greg Vernier to reach, and a wild pitch moved both runners up one base. Little was next and he walked, which loaded the bases.
A two-run single by Hanna with one out made it 4-0 CUA, and Grieb's sac fly to left upped the lead to five. McCarthy and Kalokitis added run scoring singles to give the Cardinals a comfortable 7-0 lead after two.
Grieb singled home Mierzwa in the fourth to make it 8-0, which completed the scoring for CUA.
Schroth was nothing short of dominant on the hill, going 6.0 innings, striking out eight and allowing just a single hit. Justin D'Alessandro came on in the seventh to finish things off, and he struck out the side.
Will Hoffman suffered the loss for Juniata after allowing eight runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings.
On Sunday, CUA and Juniata will wrap up their three-game set with a single game beginning at 11 a.m.
