LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University baseball team swept their Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) doubleheader at home against Rosemont College inside the Stillman Complex on Senior Day Saturday afternoon, winning comfortably in game one by a score of 15-2 before claiming a 4-0 shutout in game two, marking their 10th and 11th-straight victories. With the wins, the Highlanders officially clinched a spot in the upcoming CSAC Championship Tournament, their third-straight postseason appearance.
In between games, the Highlanders honored their 10 graduating seniors with a brief ceremony highlighting their contribution to the program,
Quinton Pertkiewicz (Pinellas Park, FL / Keswick Christian),
Dylan Fields (Yorktown, VA / Summit Christian Academy),
Ryan Clark (Babylon, NY / Babylon),
Brian Amantia Jr. (Columbus, NJ / King's Christian),
Carson Conradt (Chino Hills, CA / Chino Hills),
Adam Juarez (San Clemente, CA / Capo Valley Christian),
Caleb Edman (Nokesville, VA / Northern Virginia CC),
Joshua Melchior (Boyertown, PA / Valley Forge Baptist Academy),
Robert Whittle (Anacortes, WA / Mount Vernon Christian) and Team Manager
Christian Donk (Frederick, MD / Frederick CC).
In game one, Rosemont (4-24, 1-8 CSAC) posted the first run of the contest, before Cairn (23-11, 8-4 CSAC) exploded with 12 runs over the first three innings of the contest to take a commanding 12-1 lead, a lead it did not come close to relinquishing in the contest. Cairn was led offensively in game one by Amantia, who was a home run away from the cycle after going four-for-five with four RBIs and three extra-base hits. Amantia was matched by junior
Brooks Price (Nashville, TN / Franklin Road Academy) with a career-high four hits to go along with three hits and three RBIs, including a two-RBI triple in the eighth inning. Classmate
Samuel Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) added a pair of base knocks and tied a game-high with four RBIs. Conradt picked up his second-straight win on the mound after going 6.2 innings, scattering six hits, one run and striking out eight. Conradt is currently second on the program's career strikeout list with 159 career k's, trailing
Sam Dralle's record by just 10 heading into the final week of the season.
In game two, both teams engaged in a more defensive-centric battle. However, Cairn delivered the first blow of the bat of Juarez in the bottom of the second inning after the graduate senior launched his first career homer over the left-field fence to give the Highlanders a 1-0 lead.
That score remained until the bottom of the fifth frame, when Amantia connected on his ninth homer of the season, tying
Caleb Lang's single-season home run record to increase the Highlander lead to 2-0. Those runs proved to be all the Highlanders needed as they shut out the Ravens for their 11
th-straight victory. Amantia and Price both matched each other again in game two with two hits a-piece. Junior
Cameron Culver (Croydon, PA / Truman) was certifiably un-hittable on the bump, collecting his third complete game and first shutout of the season after scattering five hits, no runs and striking out seven.
Cairn will be back on the diamond on Monday, April 25 when it takes on Rosemont once again, this time in two, seven-inning, non-conference games inside the Stillman Complex starting at 3 p.m.
