In a tough weekend of competition for the John Carroll University Baseball Team, the Blue Streaks won one of four contests against their archrivals, the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders, in a double-header series played on Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18. 

The Blue and Gold split with the Purple Raiders on Saturday before losing momentum and dropping the two games on Sunday. 

Game 1

Getting off to a slow start, the first game of the series remained scoreless until the top of the fourth inning, when Mount Union put one on the board through an RBI that scored Eric Shilling. 

John Carroll quickly tied the game back up by the end of the fourth, as junior Justin Hanley hit a solo home run. 

The Blue and Gold held the Purple Raiders scoreless at the top of the fifth and continued their momentum on offense. 

Seniors Sam Heaton and Christian Cassaro made it to second and third base, as junior Jack Bennett took the plat. Bennett singled to center field, scoring both Heaton and Cassaro in a single play. 

Mount Union made it around the diamond one more time in the top of the sixth before both offenses stalled, securing a 3-2 score and earning the Blue Streaks their only win of the weekend. 

Junior pitcher Mitch Midea performed for a solid seven innings, tallying nine strikeouts and allowing only five hits during this contest. 

Game 2 

Not wasting any time, the Purple Raiders got retaliation in the second game on Saturday. 

After the top of the fourth inning, Mount Union had control of the scoreboard 4-0. 

In the bottom of the fourth, junior Henry Haracz doubled to center field, placing him in a position to score for John Carroll. Hanley made this possible as he hit an RBI single, cutting the Purple Raider lead to three runs. 

Mount Union was not deterred with this Blue and Gold score and increased their lead to 17 after only three more innings. 

In a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the seventh, junior Luke Galioto earned his first career double and the first hit of the season, putting him on second base. Sophomore Jared Orwell hit a sacrifice fly to score Galioto, finalizing the score at 18-2.

Game 3 

Similar to the first game the previous day, this contest started with three scoreless innings, finally broken by Mount Union in the fourth. 

The Blue and Gold had many potential opportunities for scores but never perfected any of the plays. 

Scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Purple Raiders closed out the game, winning 6-0 over John Carroll. 

Game 4

Mount Union continued to assert their offensive dominance in the final game of the series. 

Right off the bat, the Purple Raiders used a two-out rally to score two runs in the bottom of the first. 

John Carroll tied it up after a team effort during the fifth inning, allowing Heaton and junior Matthew Springer to cross home plate. 

After getting three outs, the Purple Raiders took the field and earned five runs in the bottom of the fifth, adding another in the sixth inning as well. 

The Blue Streaks did not give up easily and scored two more runs in the seventh. 

Galioto singled to center field and was sent to second as junior Jacob Connery walked. Cassaro came up to bat and hit a single, loading the bases for John Carroll. A fielder’s choice scored Galioto and Connery but sacrificed Cassaro at second, adding the two scores at the end of the contest. 

As the game ended, the Blue Streaks trailed the Purple Raiders 8-4, closing out the weekend. 

After this weekend series, the Blue and Gold hold an 11-11-1 season record. 

John Carroll is back in action in another four-game series on April 24 and 25, against the Wilmington College Fighting Quakers.