Johnston Tallies Two Hits as Juniata Falls to Wilkes, 6–1
Edwardsville, Pa. – A strong pitching performance from Wilkes held Juniata in check Saturday afternoon as the Eagles fell 6–1 in a Landmark Conference matchup at Bruggeworth Field.
Juniata got on the board early in the second inning when Zach Johnston advanced to third on a misplay and came around to score on the same error, giving the Eagles a 1–0 lead. Johnston led the offense with a 2-for-3 day, continuing his hot stretch at the plate.
Jace Irvin, Connor Blough, and Jacob Despot each chipped in with a hit, but the Eagles couldn't string together enough offense to build on the early lead. Wilkes responded with runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings before pulling away with three more in the eighth.
Braelan Huber (1-1) turned in a strong start, striking out 10 over 4.2 innings while allowing just two earned runs on three hits. Devon Coldren and Aedan Hrivnak combined to cover the final 3.1 innings, with Hrivnak recording two strikeouts in his outing.
Defensively, Juniata was solid for most of the game but surrendered two unearned runs in the eighth that helped Wilkes widen the gap.
The loss drops Juniata to 7–17 overall and 2–11 in Landmark Conference play. The Eagles will look to bounce back with two more against Wilkes tomorrow at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.