Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. – (4/1/2013) – Despite playing at home, Philadelphia University still got the jump on Chestnut Hill College in today's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest, as the Rams scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning before completing their season sweep of the Griffins with a 6-4 victory. The Griffins rallied late with freshman designated hitter Brendan Looby (Sewell, N.J.) knocking in the Griffins first run with a seventh-inning, two-out single, 6-1, and three more Griffins crossing in the eighth inning, 6-4, on three hits and two Ram errors. Unfortunately, the specialized Ram bullpen closed the door with strong relief outings from sophomore Stephen Uhlak (Ocean Gate, N.J.) and freshman Luke Floer (Brewster, N.J.).  
 
Philadelphia University (12-14-1, 7-1) set the scene for the afternoon with five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back one-out singles and a walk quickly loaded the bases against sophomore pitcher Dominic Raia III (Philadelphia, Pa.), who surrendered two more hits that, coupled with a pair of Griffin errors, allowed the five Rams runs to score, 5-0. The home team added one more run in the second inning, 6-0, before pitching took over in the middle frames. In the seventh inning, Chestnut Hill College (9-12, 2-2) finally cashed in on a scoring chance. One-out singles from senior catcher Timothy DiMonte (Downingtown, Pa.) and freshman second baseman Brian Happ (Warrington, Pa.) put runners at the corners, but with Happ getting thrown out while attempting to steal third base the opportunity was nearly squandered. A two-out walk to junior center fielder Desmond Lites (Philadelphia, Pa.) put men back on the corners for Looby, who singled to left center field for the Griffins first run, 6-1. Another caught stealing prohibited the Griffins from scoring anymore. An inning later the Griffins looked to resume their rally. They did, scoring three runs on three hits and two errors, 6-4. But with no outs and the bases loaded the Rams turned the game over to Uhlak, who quickly retired the Griffins with a strike out, a fly to center, and a foul out to first base, before giving way to a nine-pitch save from Floer (4).
 
Junior center fielder Rick Reigner (Havertown, Pa.) led the Ram offense with three hits while sophomore pitcher Cory Dean (Danbury, Conn.) earned the win (2-3) by allowing only one run on nine hits and two walks. He struck out six.
 
Looby, Happ and senior shortstop Joseph Crane (Churchville, Pa.) led the Griffins with two hits apiece. Looby, DiMonte, and freshman first baseman Patrick Campion (Norristown, Pa.) each recorded a run-batted-in (RBI). Despite the loss, Raia (2-2) went the distance for the Griffins. He allowed four earned runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three.
 
The baseball team continues CACC play at home tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2, with a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader against Wilmington University.