Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Muhlenberg College swept a Centennial Conference baseball doubleheader from Gettysburg on Saturday, winning 10-5 in the opener and 5-4 in the nightcap.

In the first game, the Mules (8-9, 2-1 CC) broke open a 5-4 contest with a five-run seventh. Muhlenberg jumped to an early 5-0 lead in the nightcap before holding off the Bullets (8-9, 0-3 CC) in the final innings.

Senior third baseman Mike Backus went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs in the opener to break Gettysburg's career RBI record. In the second game, classmate John Antrim-Cashin had an impressive outing in relief, hurling four innings of shutout ball in which he allowed just one hit and fired a career-high eight strikeouts.

Gettysburg went up 1-0 in the opener on an RBI-single from junior DH Matt Karis, but the Mules took control with a five-run, five-hit third against starter Ryan Taylor. Senior reliever Mike Sweeney helped prevent further damage by retiring the only two batters he faced in the inning.

The Bullets chipped away, however, scoring two runs in the third and one in the sixth. Backus tied the RBI record with a single in the third, then broke it the hard way in the sixth, taking a beanball to the head with the bases loaded that made it 5-4. He surpassed the former record of 110 held by Joe Bonyai '07.

With the bases still loaded, Mule reliever Mike Speroni escaped by inducing an inning-ending double play. Muhlenberg pushed across five runs in the seventh, but three Gettysburg errors made only one of the runs earned.

Speroni (1-0) earned the win for Muhlenberg, holding the Bullets to two runs on three hits over four innings. Taylor (1-3) was handed the loss after yielding five runs in 2 1/3 innings while Sweeney, who threw the last 4 2/3, shut out the Mules until the seventh.

Eric Pomroy went 3-for-4 for Muhlenberg in Game One while Dan Fisher was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

The Mules scored the first five runs of the nightcap, including three in the second against Bullet starter Kyle Conklin. The visitors added single runs in the third and fourth before Antrim-Cashin came on in the sixth. In a dazzling performance, he allowed just three baserunners – a single and intentional walk in the sixth and a walk in the ninth.

The Bullets got on the scoreboard with a run in the third, then pulled to within 5-4 after a three-run seventh. Freshman Pat Cody continued his outstanding start, knocking in a pair of runs with a pinch-hit single to make it 5-3 while getting his eighth hit in his 10th at-bat of the year. Sophomore second baseman Augie Stadtmueller scored on a fielder's choice two batters later, but starter Jason Daniels got out of it with a flyout.

Gettysburg had the tying run in scoring position in the eighth when Karis led off by reaching second on error by the leftfielder. But after sophomore outfielder Drew Roy bunted into a fielder's choice and stole second, he was left there after Daniels retired the next two batters.

The Mules turned in a pair of defensive gems to hang on in the ninth, as first baseman Brian Beck made a leaping grab on a line drive off the bat of Stadtmueller leading off and second baseman Pomroy fielding a grounder deep up the middle to just beat sophomore first baseman Clint O'Brien at first. Daniels got the last out on a flyout.

Daniels (1-2) finished with an eight-hit complete game and struck out five. Conklin (2-1) was dealt his first loss of the season.

Junior Chris Simard was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Gettysburg while Stadtmueller was also 2-for-4 in the nightcap.

Gettysburg returns to Centennial Conference action on Sunday, when it visits No. 19 Johns Hopkins University at 2:30 p.m. in a single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for Friday.