The Muhlenberg baseball team stayed alive for a Centennial Conference playoff berth with a home sweep of Washington College.

The Mules (15-22-1, 8-9) breezed in both games, winning the opener 12-2 and the second game 15-1. It was the first time since 2006 (also against Washington College) that they hit double digits in runs in both ends of a CC doubleheader, and the first time ever that they won by at least 10 runs in both games of a CC twinbill.

Muhlenberg is in a cluster of five teams competing for the final three CC playoff berths behind Johns Hopkins and Franklin & Marshall. Here are the standings with remaining opponents:

Dickinson 9-7 (home vs. Franklin & Marshall Friday, completion of suspended game vs. Ursinus Sunday*)
Swarthmore 9-7-1 (at Haverford Friday)
Ursinus 8-8 (at Muhlenberg Friday, completion of suspended game at Dickinson Sunday*)
Muhlenberg 8-9 (home vs. Ursinus Friday)
Haverford 8-9 (home vs. Swarthmore Friday)
* Dickinson leads 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth

The Mules need to defeat Ursinus in their Friday matinee at Coca-Cola Park and get some help in order to secure their first playoff berth since 2019.

Muhlenberg got an early jump on the last-place Shoremen (12-26, 2-15) with a five-run inning in both games.

In the opener, the Mules plated five runs in the bottom of the second after loading the bases on a double by junior Ryan Friesen, a walk and a bunt single by junior Ryan Riccio. Back-to-back hit batters brought in the first two runs, senior Jake Swerdloff followed with an RBI single, and two more runs came home when an infield grounder was thrown away.

Riccio hit a two-run double in the fourth, and the Mules got run-scoring extra-base hits from senior Christian Schwarz (triple), Swerdloff (double) and Friesen (double) in a four-run seventh.

Swerdloff, Friesen and Riccio each finished with 3 hits.

Sophomore Jayden Barroqueiro tossed five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and fanning three, to earn his second win of the season and lower his ERA to 2.83. Sophomore Pete Tronosky handled the last four innings to earn his first career save.

The pitching was even better in the nightcap, as five Muhlenberg hurlers combined on a three-hitter. Sophomore Ethan Brochin started and pitched the first three innings, allowing a home run and a single but nothing else. Senior Ben Kollender (pictured above) retired Washington 1-2-3 in the fourth and fifth, striking out four of the six hitters he faced. 

After senior Gabe Spiegel pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, junior Andrew DeLucia struck out both batters he faced. Junior Joe Mattes finished with a scoreless ninth, ending the game with a strikeout.

The first and last hitters in the batting order, juniors Jack Kent and Jonathan Toth, drove in 4 runs apiece. Toth hit a two-run double to cap a five-run first, and Kent hit a two-run double in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth. 

Senior Caleb Tereska and sophomore Aidan Legner also hit run-scoring doubles in the nightcap, while sophomore Brendan Hughes went 3-for-5.