The Lancaster Bible baseball team flexed its muscles and used a 15-hit barrage to defeat Dickinson, 11-6 on Friday afternoon at Charger Field. It marked the first time in program history the Chargers have defeated the Red Devils as Lancaster Bible had been 0-9 all-time against Dickinson prior to Friday's game. Lancaster Bible has won three straight games and is now 7-6 this season, while the Red Devils fell to 13-7.
How it Happened: After a scoreless 1 1/2 innings, Lancaster Bible scored twice in the bottom half of the second inning. With two outs and Erich Carroll on first base, freshman Jenson King singled and he was followed by sophomore JJ Sanchez who drew a walk to load the bases for sophomore Braden Elliott. Elliott drove the ball to the right-center gap and Dickinson's centerfielder was over in time to make the play, but at the last second, the ball tipped off of the top of his glove and rolled to the wall and Carroll and King came around to score and gave the Chargers an early lead.
Junior Justin Taylor added to the lead in the third as he blasted a solo home run over the right-center field wall. Dickinson got a run back in the fourth on Matt Primavera's fourth home run of the season, but Lancaster Bible answered right back in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own to restore its three-run lead.
After Carroll led off the fifth with a double, King drove him in with an RBI single two batters later and Sanchez followed king with an RBI double and the Chargers had gained a 6-1 lead after five innings of play. An inning later, Carroll smashed his fourth hit of the game, this time a two-run home run that scored Taylor who had singled prior to Carroll's at-bat. With an 8-1 lead after six innings of play, the Chargers appeared to be on cruise control, but Dickinson had other plans and showed just why they had 13 wins prior to the end of March.
The Red Devils scored five times in the seventh inning as Lancaster Bible used three pitchers in the inning. Dickinson had just three hits in the inning, but took advantage of a Lancaster Bible error and two wild pitches. Dickinson held Lancaster Bible scoreless in the home half of the seventh, but the Red Devils were sent down in order in the eighth thanks to some quality pitching from Lancaster Bible reliever Gabe Yoder.
Lancaster Bible extended its lead in the 8th as Taylor hit another home run, his 12th of the season, and gave the Chargers a 10-6 lead. A Brian Niedergall SAC fly later in the evening gave the Chargers an 11-6 lead. Senior Mitch Kumher came on and pitched the ninth for the Chargers and though he put two runners on, was able to get out of the inning and put another victory in the Chargers' win column.
Inside the Box Score: Carroll finished 5-for-5 as he had a home run, double and three singles...Carroll also scored four runs and increased his batting average from .282 to .364...Taylor finished 3-for-5 with two home runs and three batted in...Taylor's 12 home runs continue to lead NCAA Division III...King and Elliott each ended with two hits, as King scored twice, while Elliott just once...Lancaster Bible starter Zack Leonard had a nice outing as he went five innings and gave up just three hits and one earned run, while striking out two.
Extra Bases: Lancaster Bible has won three straight games, all of them coming at Charger Field where Lancaster Bible is now 3-2 this season...The Chargers are also 3-3 in neutral site games and 1-1 on the road...Lancaster Bible lost to Dickinson, 8-2 last season in Carlisle, Pa.
Up Next: Lancaster Bible will wrap-up its five game homestand on Saturday as the Chargers host John Jay for a doubleheader that is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.