AUBURNDALE, FL. – The Ursinus College baseball team opened their spring break trip down in Auburndale, Florida with a doubleheader sweep of Wentworth Institute of Technology on Sunday evening.
 


Ursinus recorded a 7-6 victory in game one and a 12-7 victory in game two. With the sweep, the Bears improved to 3-5 on the season meanwhile the Leopards opened the campaign with an 0-2 record.
 
 
Game One – Ursinus 7, Wentworth 6
 
Senior right hander Casey Murphy started on the mound for Ursinus and retired the Leopards in order behind two punchouts and a foul out in the first frame. Ursinus answered by jumping on the scoreboard first with a run in their half of the first inning after senior Tom Snipes tallied an RBI on an infield groundout. Sophomore Ben Cuccolo got the rally started with a one-out double to right field and advanced to third on a single from second basemen Solomon Griffith. Just two pitches later, Snipes came through with the groundout while the Ursinus rally was cut short with a strikeout to end the inning.
 


On the mound, Murphy settled in after allowing two runners on base to lead off the inning retiring the next three hitters in a row to strand two base runners for Wentworth. After retiring all three batters in the third inning, Murphy stranded a one-out runner in the fourth by collecting back-to-back flyouts to end the threat. In the bottom half of the frame, after the first two men to the plate were retired, Ursinus loaded the bases behind two base-on-balls and a hit by pitch to bring up sophomore Cory Burns. The Bears added a run on a wild pitch to increase their lead to two as Burns reloaded the bases by reaching via a hit by pitch. Ursinus added two more runs to extend their lead to four as junior Will Kelley added an RBI on a free pass and George Nestor crossed home on the second wild pitch of the inning. Junior Jared Minnichbach tallied two RBI's as he two-run single extended the Bears lead to 6-0, before a groundout allowed the Leopards.
 


Wentworth answered in the top half of the fifth frame cutting the Bears lead in half by scoring three runs on three hits and a free pass. Murphy ended the Leopards rally by forcing a groundout to second base to end the inning. Each pitching staff started to settle in as each of the next six batters were retired in order, before Ursinus added a late insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a successful sacrifice bunt from first-year Kyle Rosenfeld, Kelley collected an RBI single with a base hit into right field to give Ursinus a 7-3 lead.
 


In the final frame, the Leopards added three runs on three hits and a walk leading to the Bears making a pitching change. With a runner on and up one run, Minnichbach replaced Murphy on the mound and recorded his first save of the season by striking out the final batter of the contest.
 


Murphy nearly completed his first complete game of the season by pitching 6.2 innings allowing seven hits and four walks while fanning five batters. At the plate, Kelley and Minnichbach each recorded a base hit and two runs batted in to lead the Ursinus offense.
 
 
Game Two – Ursinus 12, Wentworth 7
 
The Bears opened game two by scoring the first two runs of the contest in the top half of the first inning. Ursinus received back-to-back one-out singles as sophomore Andrew Richter and senior Solomon Griffith collected base knocks. At the cleanup spot, Snipes walked to load the bases and sophomore Peter Balos ripped a double to left field platting two base runners.


 
Junior right hander Matt Tuley received the start in the nightcap of the doubleheader and cruised through his first two innings of work. Tuley recorded four strikeouts over his first two innings of work and allowed just two baserunners behind a walk and hit by pitch.


 
Ursinus added two more runs in the top of the third inning behind tallying one hit, three walks, and a hit by pitch. The Bears loaded the bases after a Griffith double and walks from Snipes and Richter. They added their third run as Richter scored on a passed ball while Dylan Runsdorf extended the Bears lead to four after earning a bases loaded walk. Tuley continued to keep the Leopards off balance at the plate as he recorded three straight outs after allowing a leadoff double.


 
In the top half of the fourth inning, the Bears kept the momentum by scoring two more runs extending their lead to 6-0. Richter got things started with a one-out walk and after stealing second base, he scored on a double from Griffith to left field. Griffith advanced to third on a stolen base, but back-to-back outs ended the Bears rally in the inning. Wentworth received a one-out double in bottom half of the frame and puts on the corners with two outs. Tuley ended the Leopards rally in the fourth inning as he collected a fly out to right field to end the threat.


 
The Bears offense exploded in the fifth inning scoring six runs behind five walks, two hits by pitches and one extra base hit. Ursinus extended their lead to 12-0 as first-year Cameron Krugel ripped a two out, two RBI double down the left field. In the bottom half, Tuley cruised through the inning on the mound retiring the Leopards in order behind a ground out, line out, and fly out. The Bears put two runners on base in the sixth inning, but a ground out ended the Ursinus threat. In the Leopards half of the inning, they added two runs behind a two-run homerun cutting their deficit to ten. Tuley ended his outing on the mound allowing just two earned runs on five hits while fanning six batters over six innings of work. Wentworth added five late runs in the seventh inning, but the damage was done as Ursinus earned the sweep with a 12-7 victory.

 
 
 
The Bears will return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader against John Carroll University starting at 3:15 p.m.