Eagle baseball downs Yellowjackets 3-1 through four games to open season series

The Eagles now sit 14-7 on the season

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AU Athletics

The Eagles impress to start conference play as they build off of hot start and take down Yellowjackets.

Stephen Struckmann, Reporter

The Ashland University Eagles continued Great Midwest Athletic Conference action as well as playing an out-of-conference foe earlier on in the week.

The Eagles now have a record of 14-7 with a conference record of 6-2. The Eagles faced the Mercyhurst Lakers on Tuesday and then finished the weekend with a four-game set against the Cedarville Yellowjackets, where they took 3 out of the available four.

On Tuesday, The Eagles defeated the Lakers 15-11 thanks to a huge seven-run fourth inning capped off with a bases-clearing double by Ian Sanders. Ben Peltz also drove in three runs in the sixth, with a huge three-run home run to left field. 

The Eagles went back to work the next day, With a doubleheader against the Yellowjackets in Cedarville. The first game was a dominant win, with Sophomore Brendan Beaver pitching a stellar eight innings, where Beaver only allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out eleven. Beaver looks to lead this Eagle pitching staff, throwing an average of over six innings in each of his five starts with the team. 

He receives a lot of help from the barrage of hitting that the Eagles seemed to be producing game in and game out. Including on Wednesday, where a four-run ninth gave the Eagles the insurance they needed. Final score Cedarville 1, Ashland 8. 

The second game on Wednesday did not go as smoothly, as the Eagles received their only loss this week and their second loss in conference play. The Eagles were shut out by the Yellowjackets with a score of 4-0. 

The Eagles were able to get hits but were unable to get those baserunners home, leaving nine runners on base throughout the games. Another storyline from that game was errors. The Eagles registered a team-high three errors in the loss. The Eagles struggled with errors last season as a whole, finishing with the most errors in the GMAC during the 2022 season. 

After being shut out in their previous game, the Eagles then Returned to winning ways on Saturday, Sweeping the doubleheader against Cedarville. 

The Eagles gave the Yellowjackets a taste of their own medicine, shutting them out in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday. Pitcher Marshall Leishman gave the Eagles a complete game shutout, only giving up three hits, and a walk, as well as punching out nine batters throughout the course of the seven-inning game. 

Jeremiah Cangelosi added to his impressive offensive output in the early part of this season, giving the Eagles the lead in the second with an opposite-field home run, his fourth of the season which is tied for the most on the team. Final score Cedarville 0, Ashland 11.

The final game of the week was another victory for the Eagles, as they won another game in dominating fashion. Cam Scott dominated on the mound, allowing one run off of six hits and striking out eight through eight innings. On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles put up six runs in the ninth inning, including a three-run homer from Designated Hitter Ian Sanders, his third of the season.

The Eagles look to face another out-of-conference opponent on Tuesday, as they take on the Gannon Knights, before beginning their first home series against the Ohio Dominican Panthers, with two double headers on Saturday and Sunday.