The Muhlenberg baseball team played a doubleheader this Saturday, Mar. 5, at Albright College. The Mules were meant to play four games within a span of five days, but the games against Lebanon Valley College and Eastern University have been postponed until further notice. In the first double-header game, the Mules dominated with a 13-1 victory. They had an impressive pitching performance by Quinn Rovner ‘23 who pitched six innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven batters. This earned him the honor of Centennial Conference Pitcher of The Week.
Christian Schwarz ‘23, in the previous game against Gallaudet University, tied the school record for most in-game doubles- three. Schwarz continued his success starting the game off with a double that batted in leadoff hitter Jack Kent ‘24 to open the scoring for the Mules, while sending Ryan Herbert ‘22 to third. The first and third innings are when the Mules did most of their damage. Jake Swerdloff ‘23 hit a three run home run in the first inning to make it a 4-0 ball game. Then, in the same inning, Jonathan Toth ‘24 hit a solo shot to make it a 5-0 ball game. In the third inning, the Mules only got two hits but were able to draw four walks and get four runs in.
In the second game, the Mules continued to dominate with an 8-3 victory in the second part of the doubleheader against Albright. Albright jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth. In the sixth, Toth came up big once again and opened the scoring with an RBI single with Swerdloff scoring. Later in that inning, Brendan Bussiere ‘25 hit a two run RBI triple to tie the game at 3-3. The Mules would later take a 5-3 lead with Toth coming to the plate again with two runners on base. He then hit another home run to finish his huge day at the plate, scoring three more runs and bringing the runners home to make it a 8-3 ball game.
Toth went four for six this weekend with a walk, five RBI’s, five runs scored, two of which were home runs. Toth talked about how he feels about his big weekend at the plate, “I feel amazing. When I came up to bat, my main goal was just getting to the next person in the order to keep the inning alive. It feels great knowing that I was not only able to do this, but I was able to come up big in a clutch spot for the benefit of the team. And on top of that, it feels even better knowing that I helped the team improve to 5-0.”
Coach Tod Gross, head coach of the team, talked about how thrilled he is with the team’s performance so far this season. “I think our guys have done a really good job of coming to practice every day and working hard to try and get a little better each day. It is not easy coming to practice each day in February and practicing in the field house. Our team has done a great job of staying focused each and every day.”
He strategized that to continue winning games the team would have to continue with their 0-0 mindset. He explains that, “Our guys have been doing a good job so far of treating each game like it is a single game season. Each game we are trying to go into it like we are 0-0 and our goal is to be 1-0 after that day or after that game and then preparing for the next one like we are 0-0.”
First baseman Swerdloff echoed his coach, “We try to enjoy each win that day, but by the next day move past it and build on it, treating each day like we’re 0-0. We are happy where we’re at right now, but know there’s still plenty of work to be done to get better because we are yet to play our best baseball,” he said.
This seems to be a recipe for success, to think of every game as your first and a must-win. The team has really come together and tried during every practice and game to make sure they win every game.
The team looks to continue their success as they travel to Davenport, Fl. for the Central Florida Invitational, an annual spring break baseball tournament that hosts over 250 division I, II, and III teams. The Mules will play a doubleheader against DIII teams Utica University, St. Lawrence University and Middlebury College and games against Clarkson University and Beloit College. Their first game there will be against Utica University, who has played two games so far this season. They won both games so far this year in dominating fashion with 14-1 victory and a 17-1 victory. Swerdloff wants the Mules to continue their success during this time. “As a team, we are going to use this momentum as motivation in practice this week to continue working hard to prepare for upcoming opponents like Utica and St. Lawrence.”
