BOX SCORE (Game 1)
BOX SCORE (Game 2)

Center Valley, PA (April 27, 2011) – With the Freedom Conference playoffs looming and the DeSales University baseball team still having to play seven Freedom Conference games in the next five days wins are very important and the Bulldogs got two big ones on Wednesday sweeping a doubleheader at FDU-Florham by scores of 2-1 and 5-2.

The sweep on Wednesday gives DSU (16-14, 11-5 Freedom) a three-game sweep of the Devils (16-12, 10-8 Freedom) in the regular season series. DSU gets Thursday off before starting its three-game set with Eastern University on Friday, continuing that series at home on Saturday for a doubleheader, and finishing the regular season on Sunday at Misericordia for another doubleheader with the current team in first-place in the Freedom standings.

In the first game on Wednesday, sophomore Justin Scerbo led off the game being hit by a pitch and junior Jack Kavetski gave the Bulldogs all the runs they would end up needing, hitting his first home run of the season to left-center on the next at-bat staking DSU to a 2-0 lead.

Junior Travis Hughes, making his first start of the season, and sophomore Dan Gayeski did the rest as Hughes tossed the first 4.1 innings allowing just three hits and one run, striking out eight. Gayeski entered the game with two on and one out in the fifth and promptly retired the next two hitters and faced the minimum over the last two innings to record his second save of the season.

In the second game, FDU took an early lead scoring once in the third and again in the fourth for a 2-0 lead after five innings. In the sixth DeSales strung together a slew of clutch hits, scoring five times to take a 5-2 lead and never looked back.

Junior Jason Hadinger led off with a walk and junior Ethan Moser singled down the left-field line. After a fielder's choice put runners on first and third, senior Carson Slonaker was hit by pitch loading the bases. Head coach Tim Neiman sent up freshman pinch-hitter Charles Dennis and Dennis' came up huge with a single thru the right-side plating two runs and tying the game at two.

Junior Kenny Ridge caught the FDU defense on their heels and put down a perfect bunt single down the third base line reloading the bases. Scerbo struck out swinging but sophomore Brian Mauro picked him up with a bases clearing three-run double down the right-field line putting the Bulldogs up 5-2.

That five-run out-burst was all Kavetski and Gayeski needed on the hill. Kavetski earned his first win of the season going 5.2 innings allowing seven hits and just two runs, striking out four. Gayeski came in with two runners on and two out in the sixth and ended the threat with a strikeout. In the seventh, he allowed a one-out base hit and that was it, recording his third save of the season and the second of the day in the win.

DeSales controls its own destiny needing just two wins in their last five games to clinch a playoff spot, but also controls its own destiny in the chase for the playoffs top seed. If the Bulldogs can sweep all five games starting Friday, they will finish as the top seed regardless of the outcome of any other game this weekend.