Having a late lead didn’t count for much in the Muhlenberg-Gettysburg baseball doubleheader. In the opener, the Mules erased a 7-3 deficit with six in the sixth en route to a 9-8 victory. In the nightcap, the Bullets trailed 6-4 before scoring six in their half of the sixth for a 10-6 win.

The Mules, (9-12-1, 4-8-1) who have now split all four of their doubleheaders this season, fell into a 7-3 hole when the Bullets (12-15-1, 5-9) scored four unearned runs in the bottom of fifth inning of Game 1. Senior Joel Rush led off the sixth with a double down the right-field line. After a single and an out, senior Adam Sadler came up as a pinch-hitter and blasted the ball over the fence in left-center for his third career round-tripper.

Now trailing 7-6, Muhlenberg continued its rally when another pinch-hitter, freshman Pete Oris, singled to left. He scored the tying run on a single by freshman Ryan Sassaman, and freshman Mike Hart put the Mules ahead to stay with his third hit of the game, an RBI single. Rush capped the outburst with his second hit of the inning, a single up the middle that scored Sassaman.

Junior Aaron Regensburg allowed a run in the sixth, but retired the side 1-2-3 in the seventh for his third complete-game win of the season.

In the nightcap, Muhlenberg overcame an early 3-0 deficit, tying the score with three in the fourth, then went up 5-4 in the fifth on an RBI single by Regensburg and Oris’ steal of home. Junior Matthew Long’s fourth hit of the game, a double, made it 6-4 in the sixth, but Gettysburg scored six runs on four hits, an error, walk, hit batsman and wild pitch off four Mule pitchers in the bottom of the frame.

Click here for line scores.

The Mules (15-7, 8-4) came from behind to win the first game, 4-3. The sweep was their first of the Green Terror (15-8, 5-3) since 1994. Muhlenberg hadn’t even won a regular-season

DeFrain rounds first as Head Coach Ruth Gibbs (right) waves Cohen home with the lone run of the second game.

game from McDaniel since 2000.

“That was humongous,” said senior shortstop Becki Toth, who had a pair of singles in each game. “Although we weren’t as strong as we want to be defensively, we didn’t let it get to us. We got the bats going and got clutch hits when we needed them.”

Muhlenberg, which has won six in a row, drew first blood in the first inning of Game 1, when senior Kate Dischino blooped a hit over third base with two outs and the bases loaded. McDaniel scored an unearned run in the third, breaking senior Danielle DeLucia’s scoreless streak at 22.1 innings, then took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the fourth.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first and fourth, the Mules filled the sacks to start the fifth on consecutive singles by Toth, Missy DeFrain and Jackie Maser. Dischino forced Toth at home, but freshman Tina Roth grounded a single through the left side to plate one run. The next batter, Lindsay Ruhling, hit a ground ball to third. The Green Terror got the force at home, but the throw to first on the try for a double play hit Ruhling in the back, allowing Dischino to score the tying run. Roth went to third on the play and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

DeLucia protected the lead, even though McDaniel got a runner to second in each of the last three innings, for her fourth straight win and 50th career complete game.

Although DeLucia had her scoreless string end, Washburn started one of her own in the nightcap, becoming the fourth Muhlenberg pitcher this season to hurl a shutout. The Green Terror put a runner on third with one out in the first, but Washburn got out of the jam and settled down nicely, allowing only one runner to reach scoring position over the final six innings.

The only run of the game crossed in the third. Sophomore Andrea Cohen drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a sacrifice and crossed to third when DeLucia singled up the middle. Both runners scored easily when DeFrain ripped the ball down the left-field line, but DeLucia was sent back to third when the ball rolled under the fence for a ground-rule double.

Click here for line scores.