ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The Lebanon Valley baseball team will have a shot at winning a Regional Championship after fighting off elimination with two wins on Saturday at Bauer Field in the NCAA Tournament. The Dutchmen began the day with a 5-4 victory over Elizabethtown and then eliminated host North Carolina Wesleyan College in a 15-12 slugfest.

Game 1 vs. Elizabethtown

The Dutchmen (29-16-1) avenged a regular season loss to the Blue Jays (31-13) with a big comeback victory to eliminate Elizabethtown. The Blue Jays got off to a strong start with three runs in the top of the first inning on four hits. Shane Stossel settled down on the mound and retired 12 of the next 13 hitters including 12 in a row through the fifth inning. The Dutchmen bats got going in the fourth as Pete Botbyl led off with a single to center. Nico Santoro walked and then Botbyl advanced to third base on a ground ball to the second baseman. He scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 3-1.

Andrew Miles made it a one-run game in the fifth. He led off with a single to left, stole second, and then advanced to third on a fly ball to center. Dave Mangold drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center. The Dutchmen tied the game up in the sixth on two hits. Santoro hit an infield single to second base with one out. The senior advance to second on a wild pitch and then scored two batters later as Logan Brewer singled to left field. Elizabethtown retook the lead in the seventh on a triple and wild pitch against Jacob Detwiler who relieved Stossel. The first-year put the Blue Jays down in order to bring the Dutchmen back up to the plate.

Mangold led off the inning with a single to center and then Luke Blair hit a double to left to put runners on second and third. Ryan Murphy knocked in Mangold with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game back up. The Blue Jays forced two fly balls to center to get out of the inning. In the eighth, Etown put runners on second and third with two outs, but Detwiler was able to get a strikeout to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Brewer led off with a single to right. Miles drove him in with the go-ahead run on a double to left. That was all the Dutchmen were able to get across in the inning. Detwiler got a strikeout and fly out to center to start the ninth. After the Blue Jays loaded the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch, Detwiler ended the game with a strikeout.

Inside the Box Score

• Three Dutchmen had multi-hit games and LVC outhit the Blue Jays 9-8.
• Botbyl had two hits and scored a run in the leadoff spot.
• Brewer and Miles had two hits, a run scored, and an RBI each.
• Santoro had a hit, scored a run, and was walked twice.
• Stossel settled down after the first inning and struck out three in six innings of work on the mound.
• Detwiler struck out four in three innings of relief to earn his fourth win of the season.
• The Dutchmen won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2002 and the second in program history.

Game 2 vs. North Carolina Wesleyan

LVC (30-16-1) defeated second-seeded and nationally ranked North Carolina Wesleyan (36-10) to make program history by winning two NCAA Tournament games and advancing to the Regional Championship round for the first time. There was only one inning, the fourth, where a run wasn't scored in the game. The Battling Bishops got on the board in the top of the first on two walks and a single to center. LVC responded with two runs in the bottom half. Botbyl led off with a walk and Fetterman singled to left to put runners on the corners. Brewer hit a deep fly ball to center to score Botbyl easily on a sacrifice fly. After Miles was hit by a pitch, Conor Smith gave the Dutchmen the lead with a single to right.

N.C. Wesleyan tied the game up in the second on a triple and throwing error. Mangold led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Botbyl singled to center to put runners at the corners and Santoro knocked in Mangold with a single to center. The Dutchmen extended the lead to 6-2 in the third with three runs on three hits. Miles was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He stole second and then advanced to third. Stosssel drove him in with a single to left. Murphy singled and Botbyl walked to load the bases with two outs. Santoro came up with another big hit as his single to left scored two runs. The Bishops scored four runs in the fifth on three hits including back-to-back home runs to even the score at 6. Just as they had all game, LVC had a quick response in the bottom half. Mangold led off with a hit-by-pitch. Murphy walked and then Botbyl sacrificed the runners to second and third with a bunt back to the mound. Fetterman had this big knock this time around as the sophomore had a two-out single to center to score Murphy and Mangold.

The hosts cut into the lead in the sixth with their third home run of the game to make it 8-7. The Dutchmen loaded the bases with no outs to begin the bottom of the inning. Brewer reached on an error, Miles walked and then Smith singled to center. Stossel was hit by a pitch to score one run and then Mangold knocked in Miles with a base knock to center. N.C. Wesleyan had a big seventh inning with four runs on five hits to take their first lead of the game 11-10. The Bishops had a double, single, double, and single to begin the inning. After a sacrifice bunt back to the mound, Luke Chung hit a two-RBI single to center to plate two runs and was thrown out at second trying to advance on the throw home.

LVC had a big response once again in the bottom of the inning with three runs. Fetterman was hit by a pitch to lead off and then Brewer, Miles, and Smith all drew walks to tie the game up at 11. Stossel gave the Dutchmen the lead with a sacrifice fly to right. Miles stole third and then scored on a Mangold single to right. The Dutchmen added two big insurance runs in the eighth. Fetterman doubled to center and advanced to third on a fielding error. He then scored on a wild pitch as Brewer advanced to second. Smith drove him in with a two-out single to right. The Bishops didn't go quietly in the ninth as they scored drew three walks and scored a run on a sacrifice fly to center. Hunter Tipton came in the game with two outs and two on to end things with a strikeout.

Inside the Box Score

• The Dutchmen got production from all nine starters in the lineup.
• Fetterman led the team with three hits two RBI, and three runs scored.
• Smith also had three hits and knocked in three runs.
• Santoro had a pair of hits and knocked in three.
• Stossel was the third Dutchman with three RBI in the game.
• Miles walked three times and scored every time.
• Mangold finished with two hits, two runs scored, and two RBI.
• Brewer scored three runs.
• Brandon Crews earned the win on the mound with 1.1 innings of relief.
• Tipton saved his third game of the year.
• The Dutchmen defeated a ranked team for the first time this season in their fifth game against a nationally ranked opponent.
• LVC improved to 3-3 all-time when playing in the state of North Carolina during the NCAA Tournament.

Up Next

Lebanon Valley will look to avenge a tough defeat to top-seeded Lynchburg on Sunday in the Championship round of the Regional. LVC will need to beat the Hornets twice with the first game starting at 11 a.m. at Bauer Field. The if-necessary second game will be played 45 minutes following the conclusion if LVC wins. Lynchburg defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 16-9 in the middle game on Saturday.

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