In his 25 years as baseball coach at Saint Vincent, Mick Janosko has never been part of a 16-game winning streak.

And while Waynesburg ended that streak Sunday, Janosko was eager to see how his team responded Monday at Geneva. The Bearcats won 9-5 and improved to 21-9 overall and 17-3 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think we’ve ever won more than six or seven games,” Janosko said. “During the streak, the pitching was solid. We had clutch hitting and played good defense. Our defense let us down against Waynesburg.

“I told the team if we continue to pitch well, play good defense and hit, we’ll be OK. We’ve had numerous players step up.”

Before starting the streak, the Bearcats had lost six consecutive games (Penn State-Altoona, Marietta and Washington & Jefferson). During the streak, the Bearcats defeated Washington & Jefferson and ended its 17-game winning streak.

“We have been playing well,” Janosko said. “The players deserve all the credit. Our pitching staff has been great. The starters and relievers are all doing their jobs. They have been outstanding.”

Jeremy Kruezweiser has been the ace of the staff, while Justin Wright, Casey Jones, Aaron Stephan and reliever Tyler Chrise have been solid. Kruezweiser is 3-2 with a 3.45 ERA, Wright is 3-1, and Casey Jones is 5-2

Leading the way offensively have been Bill Perroz, who was PAC Offensive Player of the Week, D.J. Dailey, who has hit some clutch home runs and Jordan Sabol. Perroz is hitting .395 with 34 hits and 23 RBIs. Dailey is hitting .368 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs, and Sabol is hitting .348.

“Someone different has come up big during the streak,” Janosko said. “We’re a darn good baseball team.”

Others who have contributed include Zach Barberich, Derek Hald and John Evans.

And while Saint Vincent, which reached the PAC championship game in 2021, is in a good position to make the conference playoffs, Janosko said there is still work to do. They have series with Westminster and Grove City to close out the season.

Seton Hill streak

Another streak ended Saturday. That was an uncharacteristic seven-game slide by Seton Hill. Two weeks ago, the Griffins were atop of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division with a 9-3 record.

After the seven-game losing streak, the Griffins are 10-10 and in the lower half of the division with two key four-game series remaining: Mercyhurst and Cal (Pa.).

Seton Hill played in the 2021 NCAA Division II Word Series.

Seton Hill sports information director Jason Greene said the last time the Griffins had lost seven consecutive games was in 2018.

“We lost 10 of 11 games last season,” Seton Hill coach Marc Marizzaldi said. “This has been an unusual season. When we get good pitching, we don’t hit. When we hit, we don’t get good pitching. There is little room for mistakes.”

Marizzaldi said the conference is the strongest that it’s ever been since they joining the PSAC in 2014.

“There are no easy games,” he said. “A lot of teams are older because of covid. That played to our advantage in 2021. The biggest thing is we’re not hitting. Some of the younger guys are struggling, and some of the older guys who hit in the past are struggling. It’s not a good combination.”

Conte reaches milestone

Cal (Pa.) baseball coach Michael Conte reached the 700-win mark when the Vulcans swept a doubleheader at Pitt-Johnstown on April 22 in PSAC West action.

The Vulcans won 1-0 in Game 1 and 9-4 in Games 2. Cal (Pa.) is 25-14 overall, 10-10 in the conference.

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