BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

Lexington, Va. (Feb. 24, 2013) – Alvernia University (1-1) opened up the 2013 baseball season with a doubleheader split at Washington & Lee (5-3) Sunday afternoon.  The Crusaders took the opener 5-4 and the Generals evened up with a 6-1 win in game two.

Alvernia got a pair of home runs in game one.  Cody Younker (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) hit a 2-run homer in the second inning and Jeremy Lewis (Bronx, N.Y./Mt. St. Michaels Academy) launched a go-ahead, 3-run homer in the fourth.  Cody Smith (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) earned the win in relief in game one and Kevin Becker-Menditto (Frederick, Md./Walkersville) notched his first save.

In game two the Crusaders fell behind early and managed just one run on four hits against two General hurlers.  Lewis figured into the run in the third when he singled and scored on a double by Leon Stimpson (Philadelphia, Pa./Malvern Prep).  Steve Price (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) lasted four innings, gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts.

In game one, the Crusaders put two on with one out in the top of the first, but failed to score.  Junior starter Aaron Benusis (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) surrendered a triple to leadoff batter Keegan Dolan, but the defense cut down Dolan at the plate when he tried to score on a ground ball.  Will Salley drove in the first run of the game when he reached on an error.  The Crusaders made a pair of miscues in the first leading to two unearned runs for the Generals.

Alvernia wasted no time leveling the score.  Chris Burns (Cherry Hill, N.J./Holy Cross) walked to open the second and Younker drove an 0-2 pitch out to left to tie the score at 2-2.

W&L scored another unearned run in the second for a 3-2 lead and after a scoreless third, Lewis blasted a 3-run homer to left center on a full-count pitch with two out.

Benusis gave up his first earned run in the fourth when the Generals pulled within one scoring once on three hits.  He gave way to Smith after the RBI-single by Chris Nault, and Smith worked out of a two-on, one-out jam with a strikeout and a flyout.

Smith went two and two-third innings giving up just two hits with two strikeouts. Becker-Menditto finished the game with a 1-2-3 seventh inning for his first save of the season.

Benusis went three and a third innings giving up four runs (one earned) on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.  Becker-Menditto also picked up a strikeout in the seventh.

In game two, the Crusaders went in order in the first and W&L scored a run in the bottom of the inning on a two-out homer down the leftfield line.  The Generals went up 3-0 in the second when Dolan knocked in two with a double.

Lewis singled up the middle with one out in the third and Stimpson followed with a double to center.  Brok Martin (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) walked to put two on with one out, but Chris Ray (Exton, Pa./Henderson) grounded into an inning-ending double play.

W&L tacked on two more in the fifth and another run in the sixth.  Alvernia stranded a pair of runners in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Alvernia continues a 3-game opening road trip at Johns Hopkins on Monday.

Alvernia 5, Washington & Lee 4 (Game One)
Washington & Lee 6, Alvernia 1 (Game Two)