WORCESTER, Mass. — The Holy Cross baseball team cruised past Lehigh in Game 2 of a Patriot League doubleheader on Sunday, May 8, posting an 8-1 win to clinch a berth in the Patriot League playoffs.
Holy Cross bounced back from a 6-4 setback in Game 1 at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field to earn the fourth seed in the Patriot League Tournament, and will face Army West Point in a best-of-three series beginning on Saturday, May 14.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Remley had the best outing of his career, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out five while scattering just six hits. Four Crusaders had a multi-hit effort, and seven different Holy Cross players drove in a run in the Game 2 effort.
GAME ONE:
Lehigh 6, Holy Cross 4
STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
Peek (3-for-4, double, RBI, run scored)
Whinney (2-for-3, double, RBI, run scored)
Kirkpatrick (2-for-4)
Lehigh:
Retzbach (2-for-4, two home runs)
Whitlinger (2-for-4, double, RBI)
W: Rettig (8-2)
L: Mudd (2-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lehigh jumped ahead 4-0 in the second inning after a pair of home runs and a two-run double.
- An RBI groundout put the Crusaders on the board in the bottom of the second.
- Catcher Adam Retzbach hit a solo home run to extend the Mountain Hawks' lead to 5-1.
- The Crusaders began to rally in the sixth inning, with freshman catcher Andrew Whinney and freshman second baseman Connor Peek hitting back-to-back doubles to cut the lead to 5-2. Freshman third baseman Brendan Jones followed with an RBI single to make it a 5-3 game.
- Lehigh tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh to earn the 6-3 win.
GAME TWO:
Holy Cross 8, Lehigh 1
STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
Remley (W, 7.0 IP, no runs, six hits, one walk, five strikeouts)
Scanlon (2-for-4, two doubles, RBI)
Kirkpatrick (2-for-4, RBI, two runs scored)
Mudd (2-for-3, RBI, run scored)
Jones (2-for-5, RBI)
Lehigh:
Young (3-for-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Holy Cross jumped ahead 4-0 in the second inning. Senior catcher Angelo D'Acunto singled through the right side to score a run, and an error scored another run; back-to-back RBI singles from Jones and sophomore shortstop Sam Kirkpatrick made it a four-run game.
- An RBI groundout gave the Crusaders a 5-0 lead in the third.
- Kirkpatrick singled with two outs in the fourth, and scored to make it a 6-0 game after a double to center by freshman designated hitter Sean Scanlon.
- Lehigh threatened in the seventh, putting runners on the corners after a leadoff double and one-out single. Remley was able to draw a double play and preserve the shutout.
- The Mountain Hawks got on the board with an RBI triple in the top of the eighth, however, the Crusaders tacked on two more runs in the eighth to take an 8-1 advantage.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Holy Cross returns to the Patriot League playoffs for the first time since 2019 and for the 13th time in program history.
- Prior to the doubleheader, Holy Cross recognized its three-member senior class — D'Acunto, first baseman Nate Wolf, and right-handed pitcher Nick Escoto — for Senior Day.
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