MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Cairn University baseball team traveled south for a seven-game road trip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the Ripken Experience this past week.
 
Cairn's (2-9) first game of the week was a barn burner with Wells College at Crosley Field on Monday night. The Highlanders entered the top of the ninth inning trailing the Express, 3-1, before sophomore Jared Sucro (Kamloops, BC / St. Ann's Academy) launched a game-tying, two-run home run over the fence in left field to knot the game up at three a-piece. The game remained tied heading into the bottom half. After loading the bases with one out, Wells lofted a fly ball to right, where sophomore Dylan Jackson (Levittown, PA / Chestnut Hill College) camped under it and made the catch, but his throw home was unable to beat the runner, granting the Express with a walk-off, 4-3 victory on a sacrifice fly. The Cairn coaching staff immediately appealed the play, under the basis of the runner leaving early. After a brief discussion between the umpiring crew, the sacrifice fly ruling was upheld. Sucro led the Highlanders on offense with a pair of hits and two RBIs. Sophomore Joe Battaglia (Brielle, NJ / Brentwood Academy) dazzled on the bump for Cairn, going six strong, scattering four hits, three runs (one earned) and striking out four. Graduate Student Bryan Stimpson (Monroeville, NJ / Cornell University) added two scoreless frames in relief with three k's.
 
On Tuesday, Cairn competed with McDaniel College in a doubleheader at Griffith Field, falling 11-9 in extra innings in game one, before posting its first win of the season with a 16-3 trouncing of the Green Terror in game two. In game one, Cairn trailed 6-4 heading into the seventh and final inning. The Highlanders put two runners on base, before senior Joe Greenwood (Wall, NJ / Calvary Academy) tied the game with a two-RBI double off the fence in right-center field to send the game to extras. McDaniel plated five runs in the top half of the eighth to take a commanding lead in extras. The Highlanders made things interesting with three runs in the bottom half, but the Green Terror held on to win game one. Sophomore Tyler Warr (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy) led the offense with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, followed by Greenwood and freshman Zach Bauers (Cooper City, FL / Cooper City) with a pair of knocks each. Senior Harrison Green (Jackson, MS / Park Place Christian) paced Cairn on the bump, hurling five innings in relief, scattering two hits, one run and striking out three.
 
Cairn dominated game two with the Green Terror, hammering 22 hits en-route to a commanding victory. Senior Tyler Fox (Boyertown, PA / West-Mont Christian) led the offense with a career-high five hits and five RBIs, followed by classmate Sam Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) with a four-for-four day at the plate. Sucro and Greenwood added three hits a-pop, while seniors Jake Arnoldy (West Grove, PA / Wilmington Christian) and Brooks Price (Nashville, TN / Franklin Road Academy) each tallied a pair of hits, while Arnoldy drove in three runs and scored another three. Spadea played double duty for Cairn, getting the win on the mound after tossing six strong, scattering six hits, three runs (two earned) and striking out four.
 
On Thursday, Cairn dropped a pair of tightly-contested matchups to Plymouth State University at Polo Grounds, falling 4-3 in walk-off fashion to the Panthers in game one before dropping a 4-2 decision in the nightcap. Bauers got the Highlander offense rolling in the third inning of game one with a two-RBI double, followed up by an RBI-knock by Spadea to give Cairn a 3-0 lead. Plymouth trimmed away at the deficit, plating three runs over the next three innings to tie the contest. The Panthers won the contest on an RBI-sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore Brett Bottinger (Plymouth Meeting, PA / Chestnut Hill College) kept Cairn in the contest despite a lack of offense, going 5.2 innings, scattering seven hits, three runs and two k's. In game two, Spadea gave Cairn the lead with an RBI-single in the first inning. Plymouth State took a 4-1 lead after plating four runs in the third frame. Jackson tried to get Cairn back into it with an RBI-base hit in the sixth inning, but the bats stayed quiet to complete the sweep for the Panthers. Spadea paced Cairn offensively with two hits, while Stimpson, senior Cam Culver (Croydon, PA / Truman) and freshman Nick Benson (Philadelphia, PA / Father Judge) combined for five innings of scoreless work on the bump in relief for the Highlanders.
 
Cairn grabbed their second win of the trip on Friday morning against Mount Aloysius, easily dispatching the Mounties by a score of 7-2. Cairn wasted little time on offense, as Spadea and junior Jake Meisel (Newark, DE / Rosemont College) each drove in runs in the first inning to give Cairn a 2-0 lead. The Highlanders blew the game open in the top of the third when Bauers launched a two-run homer over the fence in left field, followed up by an RBI-knock by Jackson to make the score 5-0. Warr led the bats against Mount Aloysius, tying a career-high with four hits, followed by Meisel with three. Bauers and Spadea each added two hits, while Bauers drove in a game-high three runs. Jackson picked up his first win of the mound, going six strong, giving up seven hits, two runs, and striking out seven Mounties. Sophomore Ronaldhino Alcin (Miami, FL / North Miami Beach) picked up the three-inning save after tossing three scoreless innings in his season debut.
 
Cairn wrapped up the seven-game trip against Rutgers Camden on Saturday morning, falling 20-3 against the Raptors. Meisel and Arnoldy highlighted the contest for Cairn, each tallying a team-high three hits.
 
The Highlanders will return to the field on Tuesday, March 21 when they take on non-conference foe Cabrini University in the second game of a home-and-home series with the Cavaliers in Langhorne at 3 p.m.