GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Eric Hungerford and freshman Rich Power turned in a pair of stellar pitching performances and the Gettysburg College baseball team ran its winning streak to 14, sweeping Swarthmore College in a Centennial Conference (CC) doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.
The Bullets (17-3, 3-0 CC) won the opener 5-1 behind a three-hit complete game from Hungerford and captured the nightcap 6-0 behind seven shutout innings and 11 strikeouts from Power.
Gettysburg has now won 14 straight games, tying the school record set over parts of the 1929 and 1930 seasons. The team has set a school record for consecutive victories in one season and has also captured its last 17 home games, dating back to April 9 of last season.
The Bullets have now allowed just one run through its first three conference outings.
Senior Austin Davis went 3-for-6 with four runs scored for the day for Gettysburg while classmate Tommy LeNoir collected his 100th career hit with a ringing triple in the second game. Junior Scott Zanghellini batted safely in both games to stretch his hitting streak to 13.
Hungerford blanked the Garnet (12-8, 1-3 CC) over the first seven innings while the Bullets were building him a 5-0 lead. Davis got things started in the first with a leadoff single off starter Luke Alventosa before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Patrick O'Grady. He then scored when senior Al Posch reached on an infield single to shortstop, who throw the ball away at first.
All of Gettysburg's next four runs were also unearned. Davis was the catalyst again in the third, reaching on a bunt single and moving up on an errant flip to first by the pitcher. O'Grady also reached on a bunt before Davis scored on a fielder's choice from Posch.
In the fifth inning, Posch reached on an error, and it led to a three-run inning. With two outs, Zanghellini singled down the rightfield line before senior Mike Elisio brought home Posch with a single into right. Zanghellini and Elisio moved up on a throw to the plate before junior Mike Kielbasa delivered a two-run double down the leftfield line, making it a 5-0 game.
In the meantime, Hungerford (4-0) allowed just three baserunners to reach through the first six innings, when he faced the minimum 18 batters. He induced inning-ending double plays in the first and third, and he also picked off a runner in the third. Hungerford retired 12 in a row at one point before issuing a two-out walk in the seventh.
Swarthmore scored its only run of the day when Scoop Ruxin blasted a towering homer to right leading off the eighth. But Hungerford went on to retire the final six batters, when he recorded four of his six strikeouts. He walked just one and needed only 105 pitches for his third complete game in five starts this season.
Davis finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs while Kielbasa went 2-for-3.
Alventosa (2-1) pitched seven innings in a losing effort, allowing nine hits and one walk while striking out six.
The nightcap featured a pair of freshman pitchers making their first career Centennial Conference starts in Power and Aidan Miller. Once again, Davis helped the Bullets generate some early run support, drawing a leadoff walk and stealing second in the bottom of the first. Miller then uncorked a pair of wild pitches to allow the Bullets to take a 1-0 lead without the benefit of a hit.
It was more than enough offense for Power (3-0), who was dominant in the early going. He allowed a two-out single in the first before striking out seven straight batters, fanning the side in both the second and third innings.
Leadoff batter Ryan Burnett was the seventh victim in the streak, but he reached on a passed ball with two outs in the third. He then stole second before O'Grady and senior Cam MacDonald saved a run for the Bullets. John Lim singled sharply into center, but O'Grady rocketed a one-hopper to the plate, where MacDonald withstood a collision to hold onto the ball for the out.
The Bullets added two runs in the third, highlighted by an RBI-double from Posch, before capping the scoring with a three-run sixth. LeNoir led off with his milestone hit, blasting a triple into the left-center gap before scoring on a single from Kielbasa. Three batters later, MacDonald drilled a two-run double down the leftfield line to set the final score.
Sophomore Luke Lawrence came on to throw a pair of scoreless innings to close out the victory for the Bullets after Power reached 98 pitches.
Power allowed just four hits and one walk, and his 11 strikeouts were the most by a Bullet since Ryan Taylor had 12 in a victory at Muhlenberg College last season.
Miller (1-1) was charged with the loss, yielding all six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out eight.
LeNoir, Zanghellini, and MacDonald all collected two hits apiece for the Bullets.