The Newark Pilots (20-17) and the Cooperstown Hawkeyes (22-14) split their doubleheader at Colburn Park on Friday night. The Pilots took Game 1 by a final of 3-1, and the Hawkeyes won the nightcap 3-2. By league rule, both games were only seven innings.

Newark 3, Cooperstown 1
Newark pitcher Dominick Ruscitti (Kutztown) improved to 5-0 on the season with a complete-game win over the Hawkeyes. Last week's Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Pitcher of the Week (PGCBL) allowed one run on four hits and nine collected strikeouts.

Two sacrifice flies gave the Pilots a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Ray Delvalle (Kentucky Wesleyan) drove in the first run and Sean Osterman (St. John Fisher) recorded the RBI on the second run.

Each team scored a run in the sixth. Alan Pastyrnak, Jr. (Northeastern) scored Cooperstown's only run of Game 1. Jacob Starnes' (UT Dallas) tripled to left center to score Osterman and return the Pilots to a two-run advantage.

Tyler Broome (USC Sumter) threw all six innings for Cooperstown and dropped to 2-3 on the season. He only struck out one and walked two. Aanderud had two of the Hawkeyes' four hits.

Starnes led the Pilots with two hits in two at bats. Osterman finished 1-for-1 with one run and one RBI.

Cooperstown 3, Newark 2
The Hawkeyes added a tally in the first, fourth and fifth innings off of the reigning PGCBL Pitcher of the Week Carson Beauchaine (Saginaw Valley State).

Danny Nelson (Cal State Monterey Bay) gave Cooperstown a 1-0 lead, scoring from third on a sacrifice fly. Aanderud doubled then scored in the fourth to put the Hawkeyes up by two, and his RBI sacrifice fly put his team up by three in the top of the fifth.

In the fourth, the game was stopped for approximately 15 minutes after Beauchaine took a throwback from catcher Adam Grace (Genesee C.C.) to the face. He was not paying attention to Grace after a foul ball flew behind the backstop. The training staff stopped the bleeding, allowing Beauchaine to pitch through the fifth.

Newark threaten to at least tie the contest in the home half of the fifth. A walk to Delvalle loaded the bases with one out. Osterman hit an RBI single, and on the same play, Luke Swenson (UC Santa Barbara) scored on a Cooperstown error. With runners on second and third, Starnes struck out to end the inning.

In the sixth, the Pilots managed to put a runner on third but couldn't drive in the tying run. Terrence Moore (Marshall) closed the game for Cooperstown, allowing no runs and striking out four. Jimmy Hill (Wesleyan) earned his fourth win of the season.

Osterman had a hit and Newark's only RBI of the nightcap. He also stole three bases. Jim Glasgow (Lewis) pitched the final two innings without surrendering a hit.

The Newark Pilots travel to Glens Falls to take on the Golden Eagles at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. The Cooperstown Hawkeyes can rest with the day off.