The Misericordia University baseball team earned a split with Delaware Valley, winning the first game 6-3 before falling 3-2 in eight innings in the nightcap on Saturday afternoon at Tambur Field.
 
Ryan Cacchioli led the Cougars (22-7, 11-3 Freedom) in game one by going 3-4 with an RBI while Chris Boroch was 2-3 with 2 RBI.  Joe Tagliarini went 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI while Kenny Durling was 1-2 with a triple.
 
Ryan Dorosh (3-0) earned the win for MU in game one, scattering four hits and three runs (one earned) over five innings of action with five strikeouts. Cory Vogeli earned his second save of the season, striking out two while retiring all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
Dorosh struck out four in the first two innings, and the Cougars broke open the scoreless game in the bottom of the second. After Durling drew a leadoff walk, a Lindsay single to left field put runners on the corners for Tagliarini, who blasted a two-run double to right center.
 
Julian Faria drew a walk to give MU a pair of baserunners, and a Mike Comerford groundout moved the runners to second and third with just one out. This set up Boroch for a single to left field to score both Tagliarini and Faria and give the Cougars a 4-0 lead through two innings.
 
After a quick third inning, the Aggies (15-14, 4-10) closed the gap with three runs in the top of the fourth. Jim Calabrese doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third when Pete O'Hara reached on an error. After O'Hara stole second, Jordan Heisler walked to load the bases, setting up Brandon Bell for a two-run single to right field.
 
Bell was thrown out at first after rounding for second to give the Cougars the first out of the inning, and Dorosh got the second out on a Zach Kulikowski lineout. Connor Buhler came up with a big two-out double to score Heisler to close the deficit to 4-3 in the middle of the fourth.
 
MU extended their lead back to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth when Durling scored on a wild pitch after hitting a one-out triple to left center.
 
The Cougars added one more run in the sixth to close the scoring.  Faria led off the inning with a single and advanced to second and then third on consecutive groundouts by Comerford and Boroch. Cacchioli then drove a single to center to score Faria and give MU a 6-3 lead.
 
Durling was 1-3 with a solo home run to lead the Cougars in game two while Kyle Lindsay went 1-2 with an RBI.
 
After a quick first inning, the Aggies took an early lead in game two with a run in the top of the second. Bell hit a one out single to left center and then advanced to second on a passed ball, scoring on a Kulikowski two-out single down the right field line to put Delaware Valley on top 1-0.
 
Durling was quick to erase the deficit, hitting a leadoff solo home run to left field to even the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Cougars took their first lead of game two in the bottom of the fourth. Tressa singled through the right side to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a Steve Sulcoski sacrifice bunt. Durling struck out swinging, but a dropped strike three allowed Tressa to advance to third on the throw to first. A Lindsay bloop single to shallow right field sent Tressa home to give MU a 2-1 advantage through four.
 
After a scoreless fifth, Calabrese drew a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth. After an O'Hara popup, Calabrese was caught stealing to five the Cougars two outs.  The Aggies would battle, as Heisler earned a walk and then advanced to third on a Bell single down the right field line. Heisler tied the score at 2-2 on a Buhler single to center field before Will Minderjahn could get the third out.
 
The Cougars failed to manage any offense in the sixth inning and both teams went down quickly in the seventh. After an O'Hara leadoff single for Del Val in the eighth, Heisler reached on a fielder's choice, but a Cougar throwing error allowed O'Hara to advance to third. The Aggies ran a suicide squeeze, as Bell laid down a well-executed bunt to force the out at first and score O'Hara, giving Delaware Valley a 3-2 lead.
 
Mike Impellittiere drew a leadoff, pinch-hit walk for the Cougars in the bottom of the eighth, and Bryce Frankenfield, who pinch ran for Impellittiere, advanced to second and then third on a Cacchioli sac bunt and a Tressa flyout to right. However, the Aggies' Chris Kelly came up with a big strikeout to end the game and give his team the doubleheader split.
 
Matt Karabin took the tough luck loss for the Cougars, allowing just one hit and one unearned run while striking out two batters in the seventh and eighth innings. Minderjahn started for MU, scattering five hits and two runs over six innings of play with three strikeouts.
 
The Cougars return to action tomorrow when they face #7/10 Cortland State at 2:00 PM at PNC Field in Moosic as part of the Inaugural “Bill Howerton Strikeout Cancer Weekend.”