Sentinel photo by MIKE GOSS Juniata's Daylyn Kennedy steals third under the tag of Susquenita's Remi Radabaugh.

MIFFLINTOWN — The Juniata baseball team picked up their first win of the season Monday afternoon over Susquenita, 10-0, in six innings. Starting pitcher Jack Greenholt pitched five innings with only one hit allowed.

“He looked fantastic on the mound,” Juniata coach Adam Geedey said. “I have been saving his arm just for this game, and it ultimately paid off. Pitching today was fantastic.”

The Indians faced Susquenita pitcher Ryan Schoppy to start the game. They scored three runs in three innings to go ahead 3-0 with Drew Geedey and Carson Nipple getting RBIs.

“Schoppy, he is a fabulous pitcher,” Geedey said. “I believe he is going D1 to play baseball. That’s what you want to face, to be the best you have to beat the best. He is a great kid, great pitcher. It was a great win for us going against him.”

Once Schoppy was replaced in the fourth inning by Landon Keller, the Indians started to pull away. Six hits scored five runs to make it a comfortable 8-0 lead.

“I think the hitting is just getting started,” Geedey said. “I think this was a big performance from our hitters. So it was just a great performance by everybody. I think our hitting should turn around and it will keep getting better as the season goes along.”

Leadoff hitter Daylyn Kennedy got on base all four of his at-bats with three walks and a hit by pitch. Geedey was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Nipple finished 2-for-3 with a triple, Caleb Auker hit 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs while Quentin Holtz was 2-for-2.

The Indians finished the game in the sixth with two runs to mercy rule the Blackhawks. Bryce Harlon pitched a scoreless sixth inning to keep the game a shutout.

“Great win against a great team,” Geedey said. “Great pitcher, he is one of the best pitchers in the league, throws hard. So that was just a great win for these guys. Coming out, showing toughness, playing a solid game, playing a complete game. It was just fantastic for the club.”

Juniata (1-1) bounced back from an 11-5 loss on Wednesday against St. Joe’s Catholic Academy. “We did what we had to do today to win,” Geedey said. “Came back strong from our performance against St. Joe’s. Not that it was bad, but one bad inning did us in there. And today we played a solid game. Every inning we did everything we had to do and it showed.”

The Indians will be back in action at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Line Mountain.