AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team secured a sweep of Framingham State in doubleheader action Monday at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.
 
The Presidents totaled 21 runs during Monday's sweep. W&J has scored at least seven runs in five-straight games. 
 
The sweep improves the Presidents to 4-6 overall. The losses drop Framingham State to 0-5 overall. 
 
Game 1 – W&J 12, Framingham State 11
 
Framingham put up a pair of runs on four hits in the top of the first to take an early lead. W&J had a chance to strike back in the bottom of the first after placing the first two runners on base. However, a pair of pickoffs ended the threat. 
 
The Presidents used a big bottom of the second inning to gain their first lead. Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio/Wellington School) sent a solo home run over the right field fence to lead off the second. The home run was the second of the year for Zaas. Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), the PAC Hitter of the Week, stayed hot with a triple to deep center field. Dezenzo scored when an error occurred the next at bat. 
 
An RBI single by Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) brought another run home and gave the Presidents a 3-2 lead. A successful double steal allowed Brody Bartenstein (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) to score to make it 4-2. Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) smacked an RBI triple to center field to score Stern to push the lead to 5-2. 
 
The Rams scored two runs on three hits in the top of the third inning to pull within one at 5-4. Behind a pair of scoreless innings by Max Stanger (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph Collegiate), W&J remained ahead by a run until the top of the sixth. Framingham State scored seven times on four hits, two walks, a hit batter, and an error. The big inning pushed the Rams in front by a commanding 11-5 score. 
 
Down to its final three outs, W&J sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times to secure their second walk-off win of the season.
 
Four consecutive hits started the rally. Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) opened the flood gates with a pinch hit single. Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) followed with a double in front of a two-run single by Zaas, which made it 11-7. Following a double to left center by Dezenzo, another run scored on an RBI groundout by Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) to bring W&J within three runs. 
 
Following a hit by pitch to load the bases, John Klein (Vienna, Va./Madison) came through with an RBI single to shallow center field. A wild pitch during the next at bat allowed W&J to trim the deficit to 11-10. Framingham St. elected to walk Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) to load the bases with one out. Lehner sent a ball towards second base, reaching on a fielder's choice coupled with a throwing error, brought home a pair of runs for the 12-11 win.  
 
W&J finished with 12 runs on 11 hits in the game one win. Zaas finished with three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Dezenzo added another multi-hit effort and two runs scored. 
 
Brandon Bastian (Barto, Pa./The Hill School) picked up the win in relief. Bastian tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. 
 
 
Game 2 – W&J 9, Framingham State 0
 
The Presidents carried their momentum from game one into game two as they rolled to a victory. 
 
W&J put up five runs in the top of the first. Three-straight walks set the table for a two-run double by Dezenzo to get W&J on the board. Lehner added an RBI single and Stern tacked on a sac fly to make it 5-0.
 
The Presidents added two runs in the second when Zaas hit a sac fly and another run scored on a throwing error by the catcher. 
 
Another RBI double by Dezenzo scored Zaas to make the lead 8-0 in the fourth. W&J plated its final run in the fifth when Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) smashed one off the scoreboard in left field for his first collegiate home run. 
 
Thomas McLaren (Mars, Pa. / Mars Area) turned in one of the best outings this season by a starting pitcher. The freshman allowed no runs on just two hits in five innings of work. McLaren struck out three and walked one. 
 
Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) worked the final two innings scoreless to finish off the victory. Giarrusso struck out two and allowed two hits over the two frames. 
 
Dezenzo was 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the offense in game two. Dezenzo has recorded multiple hits in five-straight games. The sophomore is hitting .684 (13-for-19) with four home runs, four doubles and a triple during that stretch. 


Up Next: W&J returns to action Tuesday when they face Ramapo. The single nine-inning matchup will be the first of two straight for W&J against opponents from the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). First pitch at the Lake Myrtle Complex in Auburndale is slated for 11 a.m.