true Gwynedd-Mercy 9, Immaculata 2

BOX SCORE

GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. – Gwynedd-Mercy made it six in a row with a 9-2 win over Immaculata in CSAC action on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore Dante Cassano (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) provided the offense, going 3-for-5 with three RBI's and two runs scored. Freshman Jamey Minnemeyer (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) threw seven-plus innings, allowing just one earned run on nine hits, with five strikeouts and two walks.

Cassano added an RBI double in the first and a two-run triple in the eighth as the Griffins (15-14, 4-6 CSAC) used key innings to take down IU.

Sophomore John Burns (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) reached base safely in all five at-bats, going 2-for-2 with three walks. He also scored three runs.

After the Mighty Macs scored an unearned run in the top of the first, GM countered with three in the bottom of the frame. After a sac fly from junior Josh Martin (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) to tie at 1-1, Burns walked and scored on Cassano's double, racing home and avoiding a tag at the plate. Cassano later came home on an RBI single from Rick Elfreth (Sicklerville, N.J./St. Augustine).

It was 4-1 in the third as Josh Van Horn (Brookhaven, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) scored from second on a throwing error on a ball hit to third. Freshman Ryan Downs (Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) added a two-run, two-out double in the fourth to build a 6-1 edge.

Minnemeyer cruised through the second, third, and fourth innings before getting out of a big jam in the fifth. After three-straight hits to load the bases with nobody out, Minnemeyer got IU's Eli Vottero to line out to Shane Lynch (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) at second where he flipped to Van Horn covering second for the double play. The inning would come to an end with a grounder to short.

Sean Muscovitch (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) came on to relieve Minnemeyer in the eighth, getting out of another bases loaded jam with no outs. The freshman induced three-straight fly balls to end the threat.

The Griffins tacked on three more insurance runs in the eighth. Lynch and Martin worked to reach base on two-out walks. Burns scored Lynch as his ball hit to third took a high hop off the grass into left field. The next batter was Cassano, who sent a shot in the gap in right center to plate Martin and Burns and leg out his team-leading third triple.

T.J. Warner had three hits for IU (12-13, 5-5 CSAC) while teammate Matt Hardy was 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Matt Dolan took the loss, surrendering five earned runs on 12 hits.

The two teams will meet tomorrow in a doubleheader at Immaculata starting at noon.