The Elizabethtown College baseball team jumped to an early lead Saturday, April 21, in the first of two games against the Susquehanna University River Hawks. After senior Anthony Lippy worked out of a jam in the top of the first, back-to-back singles from junior Anthony Knight and senior Colby Smith set the stage for a three-run shot from senior Brennan Snyder.
The Blue Jays then struck again in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore Riley McGinley started the rally by reaching on an error from Susquehanna’s shortstop, senior Tom Giaimo. McGinley then stole second and was forced to stay there on an infield single from junior Taggart Hess.
An infield single from Smith loaded the bases. Snyder singled to right field to plate McGinley as an unearned run. Junior Derek Manning was then struck by a pitch to bring in Hess, giving Etown a 5-0 lead.
Susquehanna chipped one run away in the third when Giaimo singled, bringing in second baseman sophomore Anthony Dombrowski, who had previously stolen second to get into scoring position.
Junior Mike Christy capped off the game with a solo shot to left center in the bottom of the fifth and the Blue Jays closed it out for a 6-1 victory. Lippy pitched all seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts. He moves to 4-4 on the season.
The Blue Jays saw a similar start to game two in the bottom of the second inning. Junior James Kantner singled and was pushed to third on a single from McGinley. Hess added a single to plate Kantner. A walk to Knight loaded the bases for Smith, who singled to left, adding two runs and pushing Etown’s lead to 3-0.
The River Hawks added a run in the third on a sacrifice fly from Giaimo, scoring sophomore right-fielder Justin Miller.
Christy had an answer in the bottom half of the inning when he singled to score Manning from second. Hess then singled to right field to score Christy, giving the Jays a 5-1 lead.
Etown took a bit of a hit in the top of the fourth on a three-run home run from Susquehanna first baseman, senior Cole Luzins. This came after a leadoff double from junior centerfielder Nick Berger who was plated by first-year catcher, Peter Yarem. Going into the fifth, the score was tied 5-5.
First-year Colin McTaggart took over pitching duties in the fifth for Etown starter, junior Braden Stinar, who pitched four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
In the sixth, Susquehanna added a run on a double from Luzins. The Jays struck back with three runs of their own on an RBI single from junior Nick Bein and a two-RBI double from sophomore Derek Manning.
The River Hawks put up a crooked number in the seventh, scoring four runs and forcing a pitching change for the Jays. Sophomore Mason Abate took over pitching duties and tried to hold the Hawks down. Heading to the ninth, the score was 10-8 Susquehanna.
The Hawks added two more runs in the ninth on a single from Miller and a sacrifice fly from Luzins. The Blue Jays fought until the end, with Manning scoring a run on a single from senior Nick Lorenz. They fell just short, however, dropping the game 12-9. This split comes after a rough loss to Muhlenberg College Wednesday, April 18, when the Jays went down 10-2. Etown is currently 11-15 and will take on Juniata Saturday, April 28 at 12:30 and 3 p.m.
