Over spring break, the Elizabethtown College baseball team went to Fort Pierce, Florida for training. Overall, the team finished 3-4 against six different teams they played from around the country.
In a game against Muskingum University, the Blue Jays took a win with a score of 20-11. This was a big turn around after the loss against Penn State Behrend.
The Blue Jays racked up 18 hits and used a seven-run third, five-run fifth and four-run seventh for its best offensive play since a win against Merchant Marine in 2015.
Etown had the lead early in the game. In the first inning, sophomore Derek Manning hit a two-run double, and senior Colby Smith made a run-scoring double to left center. Muskingum tightened the score a little, but back-to-back homers from Manning and junior Mike Christy pushed the lead back to seven points.
First-year Michael Rajnik plated senior Brennan Snyder and junior James Kantner with a pinch-hit two-run single for his first career hit and made the score 16-7 for the Jays in the seventh inning. First-year Tyler Dunbar made his first career start as a pitcher and allowed four runs on seven hits. First-year Kelly Holdren struck out three batters to earn the win in his collegiate debut, and sophomore Ben Thorpe worked the final three innings.
Manning made his second big hit of the day to lead off the eighth inning, and sophomore Riley McGinley was hit by a pitch to bring in Etown’s twentieth run.
In a doubleheader against Monmouth College from Illinois, both teams came out with a win. In the first game, the Jays got the win with a score of 7-3. Monmouth was close to coming out of the fourth inning with a 1-0 lead, but an error ball hit by Christy to first base extended the inning and gave Etown a play.
Smith and Kantner hit back-to-back singles to get the Jays the lead, and Smith scored later on for a 3-1 advantage. McGinley led the fifth inning with a single, stealing second and moving to third on a wild pitch. Manning knocked in his fifth run of the Florida trip to make the score 5-1.
Both of the teams had a rocky start in this game. McGinley, Manning, Christy, Smith and Kantner each had a hit for the Jays.
In the second game, Monmouth took the lead early and came away with the win 3-2. The Jays fell behind 3-0 on a run in the first inning and two in the third. Triples from Rajnik and junior Anthony Knight at the end of the fifth inning accounted for all of Etown’s offense in the loss.
Manning doubled with one out in the sixth and moved on Christy’s hit, but the Jays could not come up with a tie. First-year Colin McTaggart made his first career start and struck out three in four innings. Only one run was earned. Holdren finished up with three scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
The Blue Jays will be back on the field at home against York College this Saturday, March 20 at 4 p.m.
