ATLANTA, GA – The York College baseball team opened their 2011 season with a split during the first day of the Emory University Rawlings Southern Classic in Atlanta, Georgia. The Spartans began the day with a 13-4 win over Denison University before falling to the host Eagles 8-4 in the nightcap. The Spartans are now 1-1 while Denison is 0-1 and Emory is 2-1.
In the opener against the Big Red, the Spartans got the season off to a good start with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Kyle Cook reached on a throwing error with one out. Cook stole second and scored on a Steve Tretter single up the middle. Sophomore Justin Cohen then singled to put runners at first and second. Tretter was nabbed trying to steal second but Cohen scored when senior CT Stanley doubled to deep right as the Spartans took the early 2-0 lead.
York tacked on two more in the second as junior Dustin Worthman had an RBI ground out and Cook had an RBI single as the Spartans took a 4-0 lead.
The Big Red reached Spartan starter Andy Rosenzweig for a trio of runs in the fourth but the Green and White aided the Denison rally with an error that led to two of the three runs being unearned.
York erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach. Cohen had an RBI double in the inning while Rob Klinck, Devin Harbold, and Cook each had RBIs in the frame.
York added two more tallies in the sixth as Adam Hegedus had an RBI pinch-hit single while Sean McCann also had a run-scoring single for the Spartans.
Rosenzweig threw six solid innings to pick up the win for the Spartans. He allowed three runs, one earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts and just one walk as he picked up his 17th career win. Brian Lusby tossed a perfect seventh inning while Bryan Palumbo made his Spartan debut a successful one as he tossed two scoreless innings, allowing a hit with two strikeouts for York.
Tyler Vaske absorbed the loss as he allowed 11 runs, five earned, on 10 hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 4.2 innings. Freddy Marino came out of the pen and allowed a pair of runs on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks in his 3.1 inning stint.
Cook paced the Spartan offense with three hits, two RBI and two runs scored in his four at-bats. Cohen, Klinck and McCann each added a pair of hits to the 13-hit Spartan attack. Klinck also drove in a run and scored three others.
Evan Nicholson, Justin Vaske, and Andrew Mahle each recorded two hits to lead the Denison offense.
Against Emory, the Spartans got off to another quick start with two runs in the bottom of the first. Cook singled and moved to third on a Cohen single. Stanley plated both Cook and Cohen with a double to deep left center, giving York the early advantage.
The Eagles scored one in the third and three in the fourth to take the 4-2 lead. Emory then grew the lead to 6-2 with a two-spot in the fifth. York responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. The Green and White loaded the bases with one out and scored their first run on an RBI ground out by Cohen and Stanley trimmed the Spartan deficit to 6-4 with an RBI single. The Spartans wouldn't be able to get any more in the inning as they left two runners stranded in the frame.
The Eagles tacked on a pair of big insurance runs in the top of the sixth as they increased the lead to 8-4. The Spartans got two hits in the final three innings but both York base runners were erased on ground ball double plays by the next hitter.
Chris Monaco earned the win to improve to 2-0 as he tossed six innings, allowing four runs on five hits with one walk. Matt McMahon earned the save as he threw the final three innings, allowing two Spartan hits.
Sophomore Joey Couch took the loss as he allowed six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Freshman David Walker made his collegiate debut and allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits in his 2.2 innings of work. He struck out three and walked one during his stint. Sophomore Josh Kohn threw the final 1.1 innings as he allowed two walks in his outing.
Jonathan Reilly and Brandon Hannon led the Emory offense with three hits each. Reilly added two runs and two RBI while Hannon had one run scored and one RBI. Jared Welch was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of RBI.
Stanley continued his strong day with three hits and three RBI. Cook added two hits and two runs scored as the duo combined for five of York's seven hits in the loss. Cohen had a single, an RBI and a run scored while Worthman had York's other hit.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they face Denison at 2:00 pm in the second day of the Classic.