The University of Scranton opened the Landmark Conference Playoffs with a 13-8 win over Elizabethtown on Tuesday at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.
Scranton, the No. 4 seed, advances to play the winner of Friday’s game between Drew and and second-seeded Susquehanna, on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Penn Medicine Park in Lancaster. Drew, the No. 5 seed, defeated top-seeded Wilkes, 7-6, on Tuesday. The Colonels will play Elizabethtown on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in an elimination game in Lancaster.
On Tuesday, the Royals scored four runs in the top of the first inning and added five more in the top of the third and never looked back.
Conor Campell, John Heitzman, Matthew Gannon, Vincent Napolitano, James Nitti and Jimmy Lundari each had two hits for the Royals (26-15). Campbell and Gannon doubled while Lundari tripled.
Softball
After scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, and leading by eight runs after the top of the fourth, Wilkes needed extra innings to defeat Susquehanna, 12-9, in 10 innings Tuesday in the opening round of the Landmark Conference softball playoffs.
With one out in the top of the 10th, Ally Stafursky doubled to left-center. Mia Butka added a two-run double and Samantha Petersen had an RBI single.
Stafursky, Maddy Maloney and Butka started the game with three consecutive singles. Butka’s base hit to left scored Stafursky and Olivia Dougher followed with a single to right to score Butka. Dougher eventually scored on a passed ball to put the Colonels up, 3-0.
After scoring two runs in the top of the third, Wilkes made it 8-0 in the fourth when Talia Piragas delivered a two-run single, and later, scored on a Victoria Butler ground out.
Susquehanna cut the deficit in half, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Wilkes answered right back in the top of the fifth. Susquehanna wasn’t done scoring one run in the fifth and four more in the sixth to climb all the way back and tie the game at 9.
Wilkes, the No. 5 seed, will face top seed and tournament host Moravian on Friday at 1 p.m. in Bethlehem.