ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Going for its seventh home win in eight tries, Elizabethtown College baseball was stumped by Franklin & Marshall for almost two-thirds of Sunday afternoon's non-league game at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium. Everything changed in the final two innings, as the Blue Jays scored nine times to run away with a 10-5 victory against the Diplomats.
Sean Cosgriff did a nice job keeping the Blue Jays (15-7) off balance in his first career start. Only
Dillon Tagle, who was first-pitch swinging to lead-off the second inning, collected a hit during Cosgriff's four inning outing.
With E-town's offense at a stand still, Franklin & Marshall (13-11) scored five times for a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Diplomats led from the start, getting a run in the first after JT Triantos walked and went to third on a strange sacrifice bunt by Alex Vescera. It wasn't the bunt that was strange so much as the circumstance that led to Triantos being on third base. As he rounded second Triantos collided with E-town shortstop
Kyle Gable with both players crashing to the ground. The Blue Jays ended up throwing over to third where catcher
Frank Canuso was covering, but when the dust settled, Triantos was there with one out.
Kevin Shields drove in Triantos on a fielder's choice a batter later.
Two fielding errors in the top of the fourth put two runners on for the Diplomats against Jays' starter
Jake Hoffstein. Both runners were in scoring position when Sam Gladstone doubled to the gap in left center field for a 3-0 F&M lead. Hoffstein exited after 5.1 innings. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits, walked three and struck out three. Hoffstein did not factor into the decision.
E-town turned to its upper classmen to get on the board in the sixth. Already facing a two-out situation, senior right fielder
Pat Mulligan worked a walk against Rob Anderson and fellow fourth-year player
Steve Motika singled into left field. Mulligan and Motika advanced a base each on a passed ball before Tagle singled through the right side on a full count to draw the Jays within 5-1. Tagle continued to abuse the ball, registering hits in four of his five at-bats. The Ringoes, N.J., product pulled his season batting average to within eight points of .400 and took the honor of being the first E-town player to go over 30 hits this year.
Elizabethtown's drive towards win No. 40 all-time against the Diplomats —and its third straight— began in the sixth, but really came to fruition in the seventh. Collin McCune replaced Anderson as the Dips third pitcher of the afternoon to start the inning and the wheels started to come off for the visitors.
Kevin Berkheiser and pinch-hitter
Shane Hosler each singled and
Tyler Weary sacrificed the Jays' baserunners ahead with a bunt. Berkheiser scored when Gable reached on an error, though Gable still picked up a run batted in. Hosler then crossed the plate on a passed ball to trim the F&M lead to 5-3. Gable swiped third base and Mulligan brought him home for E-town's third run of the inning.
Looking for a speedy option, coach
Cliff Smith put freshman
Alex Holbert on first base for Mulligan. The plan worked to perfection as Holbert stole second and third base on successive pitches. Holbert tied the game on Motika's sacrifice fly and the Blue Jays finished the frame with four runs and four hits.
The momentum rolled into the eighth where the Blue and Gray scored five more times to all but determine the final outcome. Holbert, Motika (2), Tagle and
Luke Gatti notched RBIs. The win capped a strong week of baseball for E-town in which it went 5-1 with four conference victories. The Jays and Diplomats were not shy about using bodies Sunday with a total of 34 players seeing the field.
Tagle's four hits led the way for E-town, while Motika had two. Together the Blue Jays' three-hole and clean-up hitters had half of the team's 12 hits. Hosler reached base both times he came to the plate with a hit and a walk. He also scored twice.
Kristopher Davis (2-1) earned his second win of the weekend while wearing No. 30. Davis, usually No. 15, was without his black jersey Friday and Sunday, the two times the Jays went with that choice. Both of his wins came in the jersey, making the jersey number 7-0 this season with
Taras Letnaunchyn (5-0) regularly wearing it. Davis pitched a scoreless eighth.
Andrew Green entered play with an earned run average under 1.00, but that number jumped after Green gave up three earned runs in an inning of work. He was saddled with his first loss of the season.
The Blue Jays are at Moravian Tuesday and Lebanon Valley Thursday, before hosting the Flying Dutchmen of LVC for a pair of games on Good Friday starting at noon.
