Cleveland State Baseball swept their doubleheader against Piedmont College's JV squad on Tuesday, winning game one 8-1 and game two 5-0.
The Cougars got off to a fast start in game one, knocking in 4 runs on 4 hits in the first inning, taking a 4-0 lead over Piedmont. They continued on their momentum, adding a run in the 2nd and 3rd innings, increasing their lead to a 6-0 total. After a Piedmont score in the 4th inning, Cleveland State tacked on two more runs in the 5th and 6th innings and went on to finish with an 8-1 final. Ryan Inches was on the mound today for the Cougars, securing the win by going 6 innings with 1 earned run and 6 strikeouts. Jared McDonald came on to close out game one going 1 inning with 1 strikeout and no earned runs. Noah Hill, Noah Peterson, and Brandon Mason each snagged a stolen base. On the offensive side, Noah Hill, Hunter Oliver, Logan Peterson, Joey Roberson, Trey Martin, Tucker Mendenhall each recorded an RBI while Cameron Payne recorded 2 RBI's.
Game two had a similar result, with the Cougars completing the sweep over Piedmont with a 5-0 final. The first score of the game came about in the 3rd inning when Cleveland State's Logan Peterson and Hunter Oliver scored on errors. The Cougars again added to their total in the 4th inning, when Hooper Mills drew a walk, scoring Hunter Oliver. The Cougars kept rolling, adding two more runs in the 5th inning, and the game finished with a 5-0 Cleveland State final. Jackson Etter picked up the win for the Cougars in this one, going 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. Greg Tye came on to close out game two and did so with 3 strikeouts. Trey Vanderpool had a stolen base while Hunter Oliver, Logan Peterson each recorded an RBI. Hooper Mills also tallied 2 RBI's in the win.
Head Coach Mike Policastro commented, "Our offense had a great showing today, totaling 14 hits between both games. Ryan Inches and Jackson Etter were great on the mound for us, both picking up wins. We're happy to pick up some good wins as we head into opening conference weekend."
This puts the Cougars record at 8-5 on the season. They'll look to continue in the win column when they take on Roane State at home on Friday, March 2nd at 2:00 PM.