ROCK HILL, S.C. - Friday rain forced Winthrop baseball to play a Saturday doubleheader with the Penn Quakers at the Winthrop Ballpark, and Saturday the teams battled to a split of the two games. Penn (3-4 after Saturday's action) won the first game in runaway fashion by a 13-4 score, but Winthrop (now 6-7) battled back in game two to earn the split with a 4-1 victory. 

GAME ONE - HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings in game one, scoring once in the first inning, twice more in the second, and once in the third. In the bottom of the second inning, Dillon Morton knocked a 2-RBI double to right center field to score Hunter Lipscomb and Jake Sullivan. In the third, Spencer Yankle hit a double to right center of his own with two outs, scoring Matthew Mulkey from first base.

- Starter Zach Peek was solid for the Eagles in the game one, turning in 6.1 innings of three-run ball. The right hander allowed only five hits, striking out eight and walking three. 

- Peek left the mound with a three run lead and runners on first and second in the top of the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Eagles bullpen struggles were the headline of game one, as Mason Groves and Tyler Jones struggled to keep the Quakers at bay. Groves got the first man he faced but then issued three straight walks, including uncorking three wild pitches. Jones came in to relieve Groves and was roughed up in his 2.1 innings of work, allowing 11 hits and seven earned runs. Penn scored six times in the seventh inning and five more in the ninth to put the game out of reach for Winthrop. 

GAME ONE - NOTABLES

- Offensive inconsistency was a killer for the Eagles in the opener, as Winthrop recorded only one hit from the fourth inning on in game one. 

- Only one Eagles went for multiple hits in game one, that player being Dillon Morton's 2-4 performance.

GAME TWO - HOW IT HAPPENED

- Game two was highlighted by another great starting pitching performance from senior Nate Pawelczyk. The right hander was nothing short of dominant for eight innings, allowing only two Penn hits in that span. Pawelczyk struck out six and walked five, doing a great job of working corners and particularly the outer third of the plate with all of his pitches. Pawelczyk was game two's winning pitcher to improve his record to 3-1 on the season. 

- The Eagles amassed four runs on seven hits in game two which was more than enough to win given Pawelczyk's performance on the mound. A pair of homers brought across the Eagles' first two runs, as Jake Sullivan hit a solo shot to left field (2) to open the scoring in the bottom of the third, and in the bottom of the fifth freshman Matt Levenson hit his first career home run, a solo shot to left field to make it a 2-1 Winthrop lead. 

- Winthrop added two more in the sixth inning, beginning with a Grant English RBI infield single to score Matthew Mulkey. Winthrop's fourth and final run came in with English scored from third base on a passed ball. 

GAME TWO - NOTABLES

- Nate Pawelczyk has allowed two earned runs or fewer in all four of his starts this season. Saturday's gem lowered Pawelczyk's season ERA to a miniscule 1.04 (three earned runs in 26.0 innings pitched).

- Matt Levenson connected for his first career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, making him the fifth different Eagle with at least one home run this season. 

UP NEXT: The Eagles will turn to Sunday's rubber match with Penn, scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch at the Winthrop Ballpark. The probable pitching matchup is RHP Mitch Holcomb (0-0, 11.25 ERA ) for Penn vs. LHP Thad Harris (0-1, 7.00 ERA) for the Eagles. 

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