Eagle Baseball Off To 3-0 Start After Two Saturday Wins

Playing two more games at the Frank Loria Invitational in Salem, W.Va., on Saturday (Feb. 26), Ashland University's baseball team topped Mansfield, 12-2, and host Salem, 10-4.
 
The 3-0 Eagles have scored 13, 12 and 10 runs to start the 2022 season.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The opener against the Mounties saw a continuation of the crooked numbers put up on Friday (Feb. 25) against Salem – three runs in the bottom of the first inning, then, after one in the third, six more in the sixth and two in the seventh.
• Pacing the 15-hit attack was the top three in the Eagle lineup – senior shortstop Austin Eifrid (3-for-4, two runs scored, double), senior center fielder Alex Whipple (2-for-3, four RBIs, two runs scored, double), and senior third baseman Tim Zeller (3-for-4, double, home run, two RBIs, three runs scored.
• Senior first baseman Micah Allen also drove in two runs, while senior left fielder Sebastian Fabik was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
• Sophomore right-hander Justin Dyksma earned his first win of 2022 after tossing two-hit shutout ball for six innings. He struck out four and walked two.
• Against the Tigers on Saturday night, Ashland led 5-4 through five innings before striking for a run in the top of the sixth and seventh, and then three in the eighth on a 3-run homer by senior third baseman Dillan Smith.
• Smith was 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in AU's 12-hit attack. Freshman right fielder Cam Miller, Zeller and Allen each had two hits, and Allen and freshman second baseman Ian Sanders each drove in two runs.
• Zeller moved over from designated hitter to pitcher to earn his first victory of the season, going 2 2/3 hitless innings, walking three and striking out five.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will finish play in West Virginia on Sunday (Feb. 27) at 11 a.m. vs. Mansfield.