The Muhlenberg baseball team opened the 2023 season with a doubleheader split at St. Mary's (Md.).

The Mules took the opener, 4-3, behind tremendous pitching from senior Quinn Rovner, and dropped the nightcap, 15-5.

Rovner pitched six innings without allowing an earned run to pick up his eighth career win. The lone run scored off of him came in the first on back-to-back infield errors, and he allowed just one runner to reach scoring position after that.

Rovner gave up only two singles and fanned four. He did hit two batters and walk one in his final two innings, but he erased all three runners, one on a pickoff and the others on two of three inning-ending double plays turned by the middle-infield combo of shortstop Jonathan Toth and second baseman Nick Belli.

Muhlenberg tied the score in the top of the second when sophomore Brendan Bussiere hit his first career home run and took the lead in the third on an infield error.

The Mules tacked on two important insurance runs in the sixth. A hit-and-run single by senior Jake Swerdloff sent junior Ryan Riccio from first to third, and he continued to home when the throw from the outfield got loose. Swerdloff made it all the way to third on the play and scored on Toth's sacrifice fly.

Senior Ben Kollender took the mound in the seventh for his first career pitching appearance and earned the save, striking out a batter with a runner on third and getting the final out on an infield pop.

Swerdloff and senior Christian Schwarz had two hits apiece in the first game.

The Mules took the early lead in the opening frame of the nightcap when Bussiere was hit by pitch, advanced to second on a groundout, stole third and came in on a throwing error by the catcher.

The Seahawks scored in each of their first four turns at bat, however, to open up a 6-1 lead.

Muhlenberg came back with three in the fifth on two-out RBI doubles by Swerdloff and junior Nick Stannard sandwiched around an RBI single by Toth (pictured above) to cut the deficit to four. St. Mary's blew the game open in the bottom of the inning, plating nine runs. 

After hitting a home run in the first game, Bussiere tied a school record, accomplished seven times previously, by getting hit by pitch three times in the second game.