The Muhlenberg baseball team played two very different games in its doubleheader at Washington College, coming back to earn a split with a 3-1 win in the nightcap following a 19-9 loss in the opener.

Senior Brendan Hughes pitched the best game of his career in the second game, tossing a career-high seven innings and allowing only one run on five hits. Hughes (pictured above) allowed only one runner past second base in the first six innings and gave up his lone run after a leadoff double in the seventh.

Sophomore Charlie Siper and senior Ethan Brochin preserved the win for Hughes with some clutch pitching out of the bullpen. The Shoremen (18-12, 4-5) put the tying runs in scoring position with two outs in the eighth before Siper ended the threat with a strikeout.

Washington again got runners to second and third in the bottom of the ninth, but Brochin ended the game with a flyout to notch his seventh career save.

The Mules (14-14, 4-5) scored their runs on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Marc Quarrie in the third, an RBI single by senior Aidan Legner in the fourth and a double play in the fifth.

Quarrie paced the 12-hit attack by going 3-for-4.

In the opening game, Muhlenberg went from the game almost being over to almost pulling off an incredible comeback.

The Shoremen had a 12-3 lead with two outs and a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh. Had that runner scored, the game would have ended on the 10-run rule, but the Mules recorded the final out of the inning, and the teams played on.

Muhlenberg came back in the top of the eighth to plate six runs to close to within 12-9. The Mules had the potential go-ahead run at the plate when the inning ended, and Washington scored seven times in the bottom of the inning to end the game. 

Freshman Salvatore Cifalino went 3-for-5 with an RBI in Game 1, while Legner and junior Thomas Pranzo recorded a pair of hits apiece. Quarrie hit a two-run double in the sixth for his 20th extra-base hit of the season, becoming the eighth Muhlenberg player - the first since 2019 - to record 20 extra-base hits in a season.

Graduate student Jack Kent was hit by pitch three times in the two games, reaching double figures in HBP in a season for the second time in his career. He also stole two bases.