GRANTHAM, PA – The York College baseball team split a doubleheader at Messiah University in a key MAC Commonwealth series on Saturday.
The Spartans won game one 7-0 behind a two-hit shutout from freshman Evan Hughes. The Falcons bounced back with a 9-2 win in the nightcap.
The Spartans are now 17-9 overall and 9-5 in the league while the Falcons are now 23-7 overall and 12-2 in the league.
 
Game One
Runs: York 7 – Messiah 0
Hits: York 9; Messiah 2
Errors: York 1; Messiah 0
LOB: York 8; Messiah 1
WP: Evan Hughes (4-1); LP: Nathan Stein (7-1)
 
How it Happened
• The Spartans opened the scoring in the second as they got to Falcon ace Nathan Stein early. Andrew Santarpia stroked a one-out single to right. Connor Pickle got plunked by a pitch to put Spartans at first and second. Brett DeWees followed with a double to right, scoring Santarpia with the Spartans' first run. After a ground out back to the mound, Pickle scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 Spartan lead. York added a third run when DeWees scored on a Lucas Prendergast RBI single to center.
• York added a single run in the third on a Chris Betler RBI single to score Robby Elzinga. Michael Tinneny made it 5-0 in the fourth on an RBI double to left to score Gabe Trevena.
• The Spartans closed out the scoring with a Betler home run to right center to lead off the seventh inning. Santarpia scored York's seventh run on a double play ground ball to end the scoring.
• The York offensive output came in support of freshman right-hander Evan Hughes. He was outstanding as he allowed two singles and walked one in the shutout victory. The whitewashing is the first in Hughes' career. The loss snapped Messiah's conference best 11-game win streak.
 
Spartan Offensive Leaders
Chris Betler: 2-for-4, run, 2 RBI, HR
Andrew Santarpia: 2-for-3, 2 runs, BB
Lucas Prendergast: 1-for-2, RBI
Michael Tinneny: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
Brett DeWees: 1-for-3, run, RBI, 2B
 
Spartan Pitching
Evan Hughes: 7.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 4 K, BB, HB (Win, 4-1)
 
Game Two
Runs: York 2 – Messiah 9
Hits: York 10; Messiah 15
Errors: York 2; Messiah 0
LOB: York 9; Messiah 9
WP: Jason Long (6-1); LP: Brandon Purdy (3-4)
 
How It Happened
• The Falcons drew first blood in the bottom of the first. Evan Wagaman plated the first run with a sacrifice fly after Drew Hurst and Joshua Ammons had back-to-back singles.
• The Spartans took the lead in the third. Luke Moser lead off the inning with a single through the left side. Lucas Prendergast ripped a triple down the right field line to score Moser, tying the game at one. After a ground out, Prendergast scored on a Michael Tinneny single to center, giving York a short-lived 2-1 lead.
• The Falcons seized control of the game in the sixth as they recorded five hits while the Spartans had a pair of errors in the frame. The Falcons sent ten men to the plate as they pulled out to a 7-2 lead.
• York put a pair of runners on in the sixth but left them stranded. Messiah added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to provide for their final 9-2 margin of victory.
• York loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth but the Falcons retired the next three hitters to escape any damage.
 
Spartan Offensive Leaders
Lucas Prendergast: 2-for-5, run, RBI, 3B
Robby Elzinga: 2-for-4, 2B
Chris Betler: 2-for-3, BB
Michael Tinneny: 1-for-2, RBI
 
Spartan Pitching
Brandon Purdy: 3.2 IP, 11 hits, 7 runs, 2 ER, 1 K, 2 BB (Loss, 3-4)
Jason Cassidy: 4.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 ER, 2 K, 0 BB
 
Spartan Notes
The Spartans are now 53-12 all-time against the Falcons … York is now 9-6 on the road this year … the game one shutout was the Spartans' first of the year … York is now 13-1 when scoring first in a game and 4-8 when an opponent scores first … the Spartans are now 1-5 when their opponent scores in the first inning … York is 6-2 when hitting a home run … York is 16-0 when out-hitting an opponent …  Chris Betler registered his 15^th and 16^th multi-hit games of the year … Lucas Prendergast had his 13^th multi-hit game of the year in the nightcap … Andrew Santarpia had his tenth multi-hit game while Robby Elzinga had his 11^th … Michael Tinneny extended his hit streak to a team-high 13 games while Prendergast is riding a 12-game heater … Betler recorded his 10^th multi-RBI game of the year as he is tied with Tinneny for the team lead in that category … Predergast extended his current reach base safely streak to 16 while Betler is right behind him at 15 games … Tinneny has reached base safely in 13 straight games … York is 2-5 in their last seven games after they had won six of seven.
 
Up Next
The Spartans and Falcons complete their series on Sunday as the series shifts to York's Jaquet Field. First pitch for Sunday is set for 3:00 pm.