Baseball: Nine Straight! Mount Union Dominates John Carroll in Sweep

4/1/2025 | Baseball | Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - The Mount Union baseball team (13-6, 6-0 OAC) swept John Carroll University (13-9, 3-3 OAC) in a doubleheader on the road. The Purple Raiders have now won nine straight games.

In game one, graduate starting right-handed pitcher Jaired Lehman (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) had a dominant start, pitching 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts, allowing just two hits and one run, earning his second win of the season.

Mount Union's offense came alive with a strong performance in the second inning. Senior first baseman Johnny Costella (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) started the scoring with an RBI single to right field. In game one, Costella went 3-for-5 at the plate, contributing one RBI. Sophomore outfielder Luke Ickes (Green, Ohio / Green) followed with an RBI single, and sophomore outfielder Brycen Fox (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) added an RBI sacrifice fly to center field. Senior third baseman Chris Viamonte (Naples, FL./Coral Gables) capped off the inning with another RBI single to right field.

The Purple Raiders scored an additional insurance run in the sixth inning with an RBI single to right field by graduate second baseman Andrew Witte (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor). John Carroll managed to add a run in the eighth inning, but senior right-handed pitcher Chris Phillips (Elyria, Ohio /Elyria Catholic) shut them down.

Out of the bullpen, the senior right-handed pitcher threw two clean innings of relief, recording three strikeouts, allowing one hit, and giving up zero runs, securing the 5-1 win.

In game two, starting pitcher Anthony Warner (Louisville, Ohio / Louisville) dazzled, pitching 7.0 innings with five strikeouts, allowing only two hits and zero runs.

In the first inning, Lehman delivered an RBI double to right field to give the Purple Raiders an early 1-0 lead.

In the third inning, Chris Tsouras (Las Vegas, Nev./Arbor) extended the lead by hitting a fly ball to deep right, which was dropped due to an error, allowing a run to score. In the sixth inning, the Purple Raiders continued to build their advantage, with Fox hitting an RBI single and Viamonte contributing with a crucial sacrifice fly. Fox is batting .533 with five RBIs in his last five games

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Senior shortstop Alex Stegman (Berea, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) added an insurance run in the eighth inning with an RBI single. John Carroll added a run in the bottom of the inning, but their push was cut short.

In game two, Phillips returned out of the bullpen and pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one run. Then sophomore Ty Dennison (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) finished the game, pitching 0.2 innings, with a 4-6-3 double play, securing the 5-1 win.

Mount Union's next game will be Saturday on the road at Otterbein in a doubleheader, with game one's first pitch starting at 1:00 PM and game two following shortly after.