AUBURNDALE, Fla. – In a game featuring two of the top-11 teams in NCAA Division III, the No. 11 Washington & Jefferson baseball team was unable keep pace with No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater, falling to the Warhawks by an 8-1 score on Thursday, March 22, in the RussMatt Invitational.
 
With the loss, the Presidents fall to .500 on the season at 7-7 overall while the Warhawks improve to 3-0.
 
The Warhawks were able to get on the board first in the top of the third inning with one run after a Presidents error extended the frame. Their second run came across in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly before scoring four more runs (three unearned) in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 6-0.
 
Whitewater added two runs in the eighth inning to round out their scoring for the game.
 
In the bottom of the ninth with one out, Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius) tripled to the left-center field fence before Mark Merlino (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) singled through the right side to bring in the Presidents' only run of the contest.
 
Merlino's ninth-inning RBI single was his second of two hits in the game as he and Spencer Howell (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) both had multi-hit efforts. Howell finished the day 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and Luke Zahren (Ingomar, Pa./North Allegheny) and Socha both tallied one hit each.
 
Matt Heslin (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) received the loss on the mound, allowing two earned runs (six total) in 6.2 innings on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Mitchell Taufer (Washington, Pa./Bishop Canevin) tossed 1.1 innings in relief and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts before Garrett Harstine (New Philadelphia, Ohio/New Philadelphia) pitched a scoreless ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts.
 
The Presidents will close out their Florida trip with a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday, March 23, with first pitch of game one slated for 10:30 a.m.