CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University baseball team completed the four-game sweep of West Virginia State University in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers moved to 4-0 with a 10-0 drumming of the 1-7 Yellow Jackets in game one and a 12-1 triumph in game two.
 
GAME ONE RECAP:
Rafe Bonifay drove in the game's first run in the second inning with a sacrifice fly. Jake Barker came around to score an unearned run after reaching on an error to start the frame. Vincent Alvarez pushed him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Starting pitcher Ayden Hall worked around some traffic, but tossed zeros to keep West Virginia State at bey.
 
Malone put up a crooked number in the third to extend the lead to 8-0. Colin Coblentz, Jake Barker and Reilly Tyna had extra-base hits in the frame, highlighted by a bases loaded double from Barker and an inside-the-park homerun by Tyna. Hall went to work on the bump and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced for the seven-inning complete game shutout. Coblentz added a two-run homerun to make it an even 10-0 in the sixth.
 
Hall (1-0) allowed just three hits and four walks while striking out five in the game. Seven complete innings is a career-high. Coblentz, Tyna and Barker combined for 8-of-9 RBIs in game one.
 
GAME TWO RECAP:
The Pioneers threw the first punch in game two and forced the Yellow Jackets to concede before the contest got into the late innings. Malone scored five in the first and four in the second to take a 9-1 lead through two. The first inning came entirely with two outs. Three walks, two hit by pitches, four wild pitches and a passed ball gave the Pioneers more than enough extra bases to get in front. Doran Mast did the most damage in the second inning with a bases loaded double to plate three.
 
Zach Root had the lone single in the third and came around to score on a Bonifay bases loaded walk. Through four innings, it was a 12-1 lead for the home squad. On the other side of the diamond, Ben France made the start and got the win (1-0) after four innings of work. He had five strikeouts and allowed just three hits and walked one. A trio of relievers in Shane Coblentz, Blake Close, Gage Faraguna tossed zeros from the bullpen.
 
The 12-1 victory came with just nine hits, but Malone hitters drew 12 walks in total. Root reached base in all four plate appearances at 2-for-2 and two walks. Mast led the way with five RBIs in game two and Robert Gumino had one hit and two walks to reach base three times in total.
 
UP NEXT:
Another home series is on deck for the Pioneers against West Liberty University starting on Friday, February 27 at 10:00 A.M. for a doubleheader.