PHILADELPHIA — Friday afternoon marked the start of Commonwealth Conference play for the Elizabethtown baseball team, but game one had the Blue Jays feeling the sting of a flailing offense. For the second straight game the Jays managed just three hits, and they were unable to capitalize on seven Arcadia errors in a 4-3 loss. Senior Jon Bacher and junior Dillon Tagle made sure to rectify the slump in game two, combining for six of E-town's 12 hits in a 6-3 victory.

E-town broke a tight game open in the fifth inning of game two, turning a 1-0 lead into a 5-0 advantage. Bacher singled in Gable and one batter later it was Tagle doubling down the right field line to bring in Bacher. Kevin Berkheiser slapped a ball back through the box for another RBI later in the inning. The Blue Mountain grad would eventually score when Tim Rosser reached on an error.

The big inning for the Jays (10-5, 1-1 CC) would prove necessary. Arcadia bounced back with three runs of its own against Taras Letnaunchyn (4-0) in the bottom of the fifth, though only one run would be charged to the E-town freshman because of two errors.

Letnaunchyn got out of the inning with the lead and made sure to preserve it in the sixth. Todd Leister closed out the Knights in order in the seventh for his fourth save in as many tries.

Tagle finished 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. It was the sixth multi-hit game and third three-hit game of the season for the Ringoes, N.J. product. Tagle leads all Blue Jays with 18 hits.

Bacher's bat has been there each time he's gotten the call to be in the lineup. Now hitting .556 in eight games played, Bacher has hits in six of those eight contests.

Arcadia (7-11, 2-3 CC) was the team with double-digit hits in the first game. The Knights got 10 knocks as nine different players registered at least one hit, including eight of the starting nine.

That effectiveness at the plate chased E-town No. 1 starter Matt Ruth after just two innings. Ruth, who led the team with a sub 2.00 earned run average last season, had an uncharacteristically tough afternoon. He allowed seven hits and all four runs before handing the ball over to Kristopher Davis.

Kyle Gable started the first of two comeback bids for the Jays, hitting an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the third to cut the Knights' lead to 2-1. Catcher Jerry Smith (single) and right fielder Patrick Kwiatkowski (double) knocked in runs in the bottom of the third, re-opening the Arcadia lead to 4-1.

Pat Mulligan scored on an error and Gable drove in his second run of the game in the fourth to once again bring E-town within a run, but it was all the closer the visitors would get.

Jordan Hofferman (3-1) pitched 4.1 innings of two-hit ball in relief of starter Steve Romond to pick up the win. Ruth (0-1) took the loss. Davis struck out three in four scoreless innings for the Blue and Gray.

Elizabethtown will host the third and final game of the series Monday at 3:30 p.m.