READING, Pa. - An RBI-single by Stevenson baseball sophomore Bret Schilling (Catonsville, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) in the top of the seventh of game two, combined with a solid pitching performance from junior Greg Myers (Baltimore, Md./Parkville), gave the Mustangs a split in a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader at Angelica Field Sunday.
With the 2-1 win in game two, Stevenson (12-5, 1-2 MAC) avoided the series sweep against the conference's two-time defending regular season champion while winning its third game on the road out of the last five.
After dropping the first game 16-0, the Mustangs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first of the second on an RBI-single by sophomore Troy Miller (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) that scored junior Tom Goulian (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon).
Alvernia (9-4, 2-1 MAC) tied the game at 1-1 with an unearned run in the bottom of the second after Goulian's sixth error of the season.
From there, it was a pitcher's duel between Myers and the Crusaders' Steve Price as both starters combined to allow just seven hits and one earned run over 13.0 innings while striking out 12.
Myers posted his fourth win in five starts this season, scatterig four hits over 7.0 innings while not allowing an earned run and striking out six.
The Mustangs finally broke through in the top of the seventh when Schilling hit a two-out, RBI-single up the middle against relief pitcher Kevin Becker-Menditt to score freshman Ian Eberly (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway). The hit was Schilling's sixth of the season and his 11th RBI.
Four players had one hit apiece for Stevenson, including Miller and Schilling who each went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
In the opener, the Crusaders scored six first-inning runs en route to a season-high 16. They also scored 16 in a 16-7 win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy at the Player Development Complex in Ft. Myers, Fla., on March 4.
Nine different players had a hit for Alvernia, five of which had two or more. Chris Gehris led the way, going 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Chris Burns and Rory Clemens also drove in three runs each.
On the mound, Mike Weinhold allowed just two hits over 6.0 innings while striking out four. For Stevenson, junior Ryan Kellough (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) suffered the loss, surrendering eight runs on seven hits over 2.1 innings.
Seniors Josh Morris (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) and Brad Blum (Olney, Md./Magruder) as well as freshman Kevin Wu (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) each had one hit for the Mustangs. For Wu, he totaled his second hit in as many pinch-hit appearances this season with a double to right center in the seventh.
Stevenson travels to Elizabethtown on Friday, March 22 for the first of a three-game Commonwealth Conference series beginning at 3:30 p.m.
