BEL AIR, Md. – The No. 12 Harford baseball team were swept in a doubleheader by No. 11 Mercer County Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Owls (40-12) were dropped in game one, 10-4 and fell 5-0 in game two.
 
Facing Mercer County (37-10) for the second time in less than a week, Harford struggled at the plate and on the mound, suffering their second doubleheader sweep of the week and just the third of the season.
 
Mercer County 10, Harford 4
Game one was defined by a big third inning at the plate by Mercer County in which they scored five runs. The Vikings strung together six straight hits to open the inning.
 
It was a rough outing for Fighting Owls starting pitcher Josh Silvestri (5-4) who took the loss. He was touched up for eight runs on 10 hits. He issued zero walks but failed to register a strikeout as he struggled to miss bats.
 
Anthony Vattuone and Chad Bronson each pitched in relief for Harford. Vattuone pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks with one strikeout. Bronson gave up no runs on no hits and one walk with a strikeout.
 
CJ Young went 3-for-3 at the plate, with all three hits being singles. Jack Hamner and Ben Bomberger both went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a run driven in.
 
Former Harford pitcher Nick Economos, now pitching for Mercer County, moved to 6-0 with the win. He allowed four runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over four innings pitched.
 
Mercer County 5, Harford 0
The Fighting Owls were blanked for just the second time of the season in game two. Mercer County, in both games, trotted out hard-thrower after hard-thrower. All of the pitchers for the Vikings not only threw hard but commanded the strike zone well.
 
Harford only managed four hits and one walk drawn in game two. Jamal Clarke went 2-for-3 with a double as he was the lone Fighting Owl hitter to manage multiple hits. Dominic DiSabatino returned to the lineup after missing a couple weeks and went 1-for-3 at the plate. Brett Hash went 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts on the day.
 
Anthony Atticks (5-3) took the loss on the mound for Harford. He gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk. He struck out three over four innings pitched.
 
Austin Griffie pitched three innings in relief. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
 
Harford will finish off the regular season Sunday afternoon as they host Monroe for Sophomore Day. The doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.