AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- The Washington & Jefferson baseball team pounded out a program-record 25 hits and scored 10 of its 16 runs in the final two innings to defeat Union (N.Y.) 16-7 on Thursday afternoon, March 23.
 
The win moves the Presidents to 7-2 overall on the season while the Dutchmen fall to 2-4 overall.
 
After the Dutchmen scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 7-5 lead, the Presidents began their comeback, getting one run back in the top of the seventh when Nick Vento (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) singled to right center to drive in Dan Trettel (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), who singled up the middle to begin the inning.
 
Nick Gatins (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) crushed a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning after Ryan Sciullo (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) led off the inning with a single to left, giving the Presidents their first lead since the fourth inning. Kevin Begley (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes), who entered the game as a pinch hitter, followed with another single before Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius) replaced Begley as a pinch runner. Socha stole second then third base and proceeded to score on a wild pitch, giving the Presidents a 9-7 lead, before Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) laced the fourth straight hit up the middle to knock the Dutchmen pitcher out of the game.
 
Adam LaRue (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny), who singled to left, stole third after advancing to second when Trettel reached on a hit by pitch. LaRue came around to score on the play when the Union catcher's throw ended up in left field, allowing Trettel to advance to third. Vento followed that up with a single to center, plating Trettel, as the W&J lead grew to 11-7. The inning was capped off when Sciullo singled for the second time in the inning to score Frank Fortunato (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), who reached on a double to right field.
 
The Presidents went right back to work in the top of the ninth inning when James Artale (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) led off with a ground-rule double to left. After Artale advanced to third on a wild pitch and Dalesandro was hit by a pitch, LaRue drove Artale home with a bunt single to first base. Trettel then drove a ball to the right-center field fence, scoring Dalesandro and LaRue, and raced around to third for the two-RBI triple. Two batters later, Fortunato doubled to left center to score Trettel to finish off the W&J scoring in the game.
 
The Presidents got on the board first in the second inning when Gatins doubled to deep left-center field to drive in Sciullo, who reached on an error to begin the inning. Three batters later, LaRue singled down the right-field line to score Gatins.
 
The Dutchmen scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the second, but Mark Merlino (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) started a two-out Presidents rally in the top of the third when he doubled down the left-field line. He was followed by a Sciullo double to right center and a Gatins single to center field, as the Presidents regained a 4-2 lead.
 
The Dutchmen got one run back in the bottom of the third then scored three runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-4 lead.
 
Merlino helped the Presidents to another two-out rally in the fifth inning when he tripled to right center then came in to score when Sciullo doubled to left-center field.
 
Sciullo finished the day 5-for-6 at the plate with a double, three RBI and three runs scored as he became the first President to record five hits in a game since Gannon Rooney accomplished the feat in the clinching game of the 2015 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship.
 
LaRue finished with four hits in six at-bats with two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base while Trettel and Gatins recorded three hits each. Trettel's triple was his third of the season to go along with his two RBI, three runs and stolen base while Gatins drove in four runs, scored three times and added his second long ball of the year.
 
Vento, Fortunato and Merlino each totaled two hits in the game and combined for three RBI and three runs scored.
 
Tim Mulvey (Glenshaw, Pa./OLSH) (2-0) earned his second win of the season as he pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up just one hit and no runs. Matt Heslin (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) started and threw five innings, giving up six runs (three earned) and struck out two hitters. James Trainor (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) was first out of the Presidents' bullpen and pitched 0.1 innings before being relieved by Mulvey. Will Bowser (Burgettstown, Pa./Madonna (W.Va.)) and Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, as Bowser allowed one hit with one walk and a strikeout while Helbing needed just seven pitches for a perfect ninth.
 
The Presidents will play their final game of the RussMatt Spring Invitational on Friday, March 24, at 10 a.m. when they face Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Auburndale, Fla.