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ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown's offense was locked in from the first pitch Friday, as it produced season-highs of 17 runs and 21 hits in a 17-3 rout of rival Messiah at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.
Alex Holbert extended his hitting streak to seven games and reached base safely for the 21st game in a row with a second inning single. He proceeded to lead the Blue Jays (12-10, 5-6 Commonwealth Conference) with four hits, while scoring twice and driving in three.
Kyle Facker came across the plate four times, Sean Jones knocked in four and Ryan Shirk cracked a mammoth home run to left for an Elizabethtown team that has now scored 27 runs over its last two games after only scoring 10 runs or more in a game once in its first 20.
Messiah (10-11, 8-5 CC) gave the ball to Steven Ridings and his 2.05 earned run average, but he lasted only two innings. The Blue Jays got to him for two runs on four hits in the first and kept the pressure high with three runs on four hits in the second to lead 5-1.
Six players on E-town's starting lineup card had at least one hit by the end of the second inning. The other three recorded one by the end of the fourth when the Jays held a 14-2 lead.
Given a big lead to work with, but having to sit for extended periods of time while his teammates raked, freshman Kevin Elwell remained focused to work seven innings. He surrendered nine hits and three runs (two earned), but walked only one and struck out five for his third win of the season.
Taras Letnaunchyn pitched a perfect eighth and Joseph Williams worked the ninth. Each had a strikeout.
A total of 41 players saw action in Friday's series opener. Shirk, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth for third baseman Tyler Weary, was ahead in the count 3-0 in his second at bat of the afternoon before taking what appeared to be ball four from Russell Woleslagel. Instead called a strike, Shirk took the next pitch and launched it well up on the hill beyond the left field fence for his first career home run.
Sophomore Jake Weber reached base in both of his at-bats with singles in the seventh and eighth. Dylan Manning started in left field and went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and three runs scored. Kyle Gable collected two runs, two hits an RBI and a stolen base. Jones was 3-for-5 with his fourth double of the year.
Luke Gatti and Frank Ragozzino also doubled for the blue and gray, which had four extra-base hits in the game.
Jacob Sprengle's two hits and Zach Brubaker's two runs paced Messiah.
It was a tough afternoon for the Falcon pitchers. Zach Luman allowed four unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning and Mitch McClure was tagged for five runs on four hits in an equal amount of time. Woleslagel managed to eat the final 4.2 innings with eight hits allowed and four strikeouts.
The Blue Jays now head to Messiah tomorrow for a noon doubleheader, where they have a chance to claim their first CC series victory of the season.
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown's offense was locked in from the first pitch Friday, as it produced season-highs of 17 runs and 21 hits in a 17-3 rout of rival Messiah at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.
Alex Holbert extended his hitting streak to seven games and reached base safely for the 21st game in a row with a second inning single. He proceeded to lead the Blue Jays (12-10, 5-6 Commonwealth Conference) with four hits, while scoring twice and driving in three.
Kyle Facker came across the plate four times, Sean Jones knocked in four and Ryan Shirk cracked a mammoth home run to left for an Elizabethtown team that has now scored 27 runs over its last two games after only scoring 10 runs or more in a game once in its first 20.
Messiah (10-11, 8-5 CC) gave the ball to Steven Ridings and his 2.05 earned run average, but he lasted only two innings. The Blue Jays got to him for two runs on four hits in the first and kept the pressure high with three runs on four hits in the second to lead 5-1.
Six players on E-town's starting lineup card had at least one hit by the end of the second inning. The other three recorded one by the end of the fourth when the Jays held a 14-2 lead.
Given a big lead to work with, but having to sit for extended periods of time while his teammates raked, freshman Kevin Elwell remained focused to work seven innings. He surrendered nine hits and three runs (two earned), but walked only one and struck out five for his third win of the season.
Taras Letnaunchyn pitched a perfect eighth and Joseph Williams worked the ninth. Each had a strikeout.
A total of 41 players saw action in Friday's series opener. Shirk, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth for third baseman Tyler Weary, was ahead in the count 3-0 in his second at bat of the afternoon before taking what appeared to be ball four from Russell Woleslagel. Instead called a strike, Shirk took the next pitch and launched it well up on the hill beyond the left field fence for his first career home run.
Sophomore Jake Weber reached base in both of his at-bats with singles in the seventh and eighth. Dylan Manning started in left field and went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and three runs scored. Kyle Gable collected two runs, two hits an RBI and a stolen base. Jones was 3-for-5 with his fourth double of the year.
Luke Gatti and Frank Ragozzino also doubled for the blue and gray, which had four extra-base hits in the game.
Jacob Sprengle's two hits and Zach Brubaker's two runs paced Messiah.
It was a tough afternoon for the Falcon pitchers. Zach Luman allowed four unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning and Mitch McClure was tagged for five runs on four hits in an equal amount of time. Woleslagel managed to eat the final 4.2 innings with eight hits allowed and four strikeouts.
The Blue Jays now head to Messiah tomorrow for a noon doubleheader, where they have a chance to claim their first CC series victory of the season.
