WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team dropped an early 3-2 decision to the visiting La Roche Red Hawks in six innings due to weather Thursday evening at Ross Memorial Park.
 
Three Presidents tallied a hit in the mid-week contest. Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) knocked the Presidents' second home run of the season following his solo home run in W&J's last matchup against Mount Union the night prior. Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) and Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) also registered a hit each.
 
Stern kicked off the scoring on either side in the bottom of the second inning as he shot a homer over the right field fence to give the Presidents their only lead of the contest, 1-0.
 
La Roche answered in the top of the third with a three-run inning, putting them ahead 3-1.
 
W&J found the scoring column once more in the bottom of the fifth after Josh Dezenzo (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) was tagged by a pitch to lead off the inning followed by a drawn walk by second baseman Brian Feldman (Gibsonia, Pa./Eden Christian Academy) that put runners on first and second.
 
Dezenzo then used some heads-up baserunning to score the Presidents lone run of the inning. Dezenzo took off as a wild pitch that walked Miko skipped past the catcher to the backstop, cutting the deficit to 3-2 before La Roche escaped the inning.
 
Both teams put runners on in the sixth inning, but to no avail as they each went scoreless in the frame.
 
Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) received the loss on the bump for the Presidents. The junior righty pitched 4.0 complete innings, struck seven total while allowing four hits and three earned runs. Nate Hess (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) relieved Giarrusso, pitching the final two innings before the game ended due to weather.
 
W&J is slated to return to Ross Memorial Park tomorrow, Friday (Feb. 28) in the afternoon for games against Keystone (3:45 p.m.) and Wooster (7 p.m.).