WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Kyle Fackler set Elizabethtown's career runs record, James Kantner hit a grand slam and the Blue Jays rallied to beat top-seeded Catholic with a three-run ninth inning. It was a crazy day of baseball in the nation's capital, Friday, as E-town blasted Susquehanna, 14-6, and topped Catholic in thrilling fashion, 8-7, to ensure they'll play for a Landmark championship on Sunday.
The Blue Jays entered this weekend's Landmark Baseball Championship tournament as the No. 3 seed, but are the lone unbeaten after Friday's opening day, which included games at Gallaudet's Hoy Field and Catholic's Talbot Field. Elizabethtown is guaranteed at least two shots to win its first Landmark title and first conference title since the MAC Commonwealth championship in 2009, but must only win one game when it meets the winner of Saturday's Catholic/Susquehanna elimination game.
ELIZABETHTOWN 14, SUSQUEHANNA 6
at Gallaudet
Elizabethtown scored the game's first 12 runs, highlighted by a pair of Nick Bein sacrifice flies and James Kantner's grand slam to take control in a 14-6 victory over Susquehanna.
Junior shortstop Nick Lorenz led off the second inning with a double and Brian Portillo singled to put runners on the corners for Bein. Bein's first sac fly plated Lorenz and after Kantner doubled, Frank Ragozzino added a sac fly of his own to make it 2-0. Kyle Fackler followed with a run-scoring single for a three-run lead.
Things got worse for the River Hawks (22-18) and pitcher Bobby Grigas in the third. Another lead-off double, this one from Colby Smith, followed by a Mike Christy single put the Blue Jays (25-14) in business. A Lorenz sac fly and double by Portillo ended Grigas' day, before Bein registered his second sac fly for a 5-0 lead, as E-town nearly mimicked its second inning.
Walks and mistakes would cost Susquehanna in the fourth. Lorenz was hit by a pitch with the bags full, Bein drew a bases loaded walk for his third RBI and Kantner bulldozed a 1-0 pitch from A.J. Pinto over the left field fence for his second homer of the season and a 12-0 lead.
Susquehanna would get five runs back between the fourth and fifth innings, but never threatened Elizabethtown's massive advantage.
Kevin Elwell went seven innings, allowing five runs --four earned-- on 10 hits and striking out three. The Clarks Summit native improved to 7-3 on the year and recorded his 25th career victory to move into sole possession of second-place all-time at Elizabethtown and one win away from Bob Lindsey's school record 26. Elwell also went over 242 career innings pitched and into third-place in program history. He's just 1.1 innings shy of Gene Maderness for second all-time.
Braden Stinar pitched the final two innings and struck out one for the Blue and Gray.
Grigas gave up five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings before being lifted. Jack Kinney yielded four runs and Pinto five, though each only took one earned run against.
Fackler (3 for 6), Lorenz (3 for 4), Portillo (3 for 5) and Kantner (3 for 5) had three hits apiece to lead Elizabethtown's 16-hit attack. Lorenz and Kantner scored three runs each, while Smith, Christy and Portillo each crossed home twice.
Cory Fallon was 2 for 5 with a double, two RBI and two runs for the River Hawks and Tom Giaimo went 2 for 4 with a solo home run and two RBI.
ELIZABETHTOWN 8, CATHOLIC 7
at Catholic
For the second time this season, Catholic failed to hold a three-run lead against Elizabethtown in the Blue Jays' last at-bats.
Nick Lorenz came through with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth to tie the game at seven and an error from Cardinals' (28-13) shortstop Ryan Tracy with Brian Portillo batting provided the opportunity for Mike Christy to come home with the go-ahead, and eventual game-winning, run.
The Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third on RBI singles by Christy and Lorenz, along with a Catholic error.
Anthony Ferlise's two-run homer in the fourth were the only earned runs Mike Garvey surrendered in 5.2 innings. It was another strong outing from the New Jersey-born right-hander, who allowed six hits and struck out three.
RBIs from Colby Smith and Christy had Elizabethtown ahead 5-2 after five. Smith's sac fly brought in Kyle Fackler, who had led off the inning with a single. The run was the 163rd scored by Fackler in his career, breaking current Juniata coach Adam Sheibley's former mark of 162. Fackler went 3 for 5 in the game to raise his team- and conference-leading batting average to .460 and is just one hit shy of tying Andy Barrick's single-season record of 70, set back in 1988.
The hosts scratched one run back in the sixth and got to freshman pitcher Andrew Brndjar for four runs in the seventh, rallying to take a 7-5 lead. Catcher Paul Burmester cracked a two-run home run to tie it at five. Bailey Lewis then tripled in Connor Sullivan with the lead run and scored on the same play when Lorenz's throw got away.
Lorenz got redemption with his bat in the ninth, tying the game with his two-out heroics.
Mason Belcher started and gave up five runs --three earned-- on nine hits in 6.1 innings for Catholic. Collin Brown was tagged for three runs --two earned-- over 2.1 innings as he took the loss.
E-town got two scoreless frames from Josh Kwak in its come-from-behind victory. Kwak improved to 3-0 and lowered his earned run average to 1.93 across 23.1 innings this season.
Fackler was joined by Christy with three hits and Lorenz drove in three to pace the Blue Jays. Richy Masciarelli went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks and scored twice. None of Elizabethtown's 12 hits went for extra bases, while Catholic had four extra-base hits and 13 overall.
ON DECK
Catholic and the Landmark Conference announced additional changes to the weekend schedule following Elizabethtown's win over the Cardinals.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday, the Blue Jays will now get a day of rest and the conference will only attempt to play the Catholic/Susquehanna elimination game at 3:30 p.m., on Gallaudet's Hoy Field.
Elizabethtown, which only needs one win to claim the Landmark championship, will face the winner of that Catholic/Susquehanna game at Catholic on Sunday at 11 a.m. A final winner-take-all game would follow if the Blue Jays were unable to win the championship in the first game.