Shippensburg edges Jays, 19-16

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown opened with three straight decisions and battled NCAA Division II Shippensburg to the final horn in a 19-16 defeat Tuesday evening at Thompson Gymnasium.

Mike Lammer improved to 14-1 and Rocco Hladney snagged his team-leading sixth major decision of the year for the Blue and Gray, which fell to 5-6 on the season. Ship improved to 6-5 with their third win in three all-time meetings with the Blue Jays.

Elizabethtown got off to a fantastic start, scoring the first nine points on decisions by Philip Torresani (125), Bryan Pflanz (133) and MyHOUSE/d3wrestle.com Honorable Mention Mike Lammer.

The Raiders' Dustin Steffenino forced overtime with 1:10 of riding time against Torresani, but E-town's sophomore stepped it up in the extra session. Torresani earned the decisive takedown with 35 seconds to go in the period and tacked on two back points for an 8-4 victory.

Pflanz disposed of Dante Steffenino, 7-0, in the 133-pound bout, getting a takedown, two-point near fall and an escape to lead 5-0 after the first period. Mike Lammer would pull away from Jared Leonetti at 141 with a seven-point second stanza that included three takedowns. Lammer finished with five in the match and a third-period reversal for a 13-8 win. All of Shippensburg individual bout points over the first three matchups came from escapes until Leonetti's takedown with 1:05 left in the third period against Lammer.

The Blue Jays could not sustain their early advantage, though, as the Raiders won four straight weight classes to lead 16-9.

Mike Springer defeated Chad Lammer, 8-4, at 149, Adam Martz received six points for a forfeit at 157, Mark Lentz earned a major decision at 165 and Gray Garber finished the run with a decision at 174.

Hladney controlled Ship's Shane Springer from start-to-finish with eight takedowns and nearly 4:00 of riding time. Hladney opened up a 6-2 lead after the first period and extended his cushion to 12-4 at the end of two.

MyHOUSE/d3wrestle.com Contender Luke Fernandez dropped a match for just the second time in his last 14 attempts. Raider sophomore Evan Ramos, 12-1 on the year, held on for a 3-2 decision with an escape right off the whistle to open the third. Fernandez was in position to take down Ramos twice in the waning moments, but couldn't quite get Ramos off his feet before both men went out of bounds.

Elizabethtown trailed by six heading into the heavyweight match, but a pin was not in the cards on this evening. A victory, was, however. Eric Eckstein, giving up a quite a bit of size to Derek Earnest, gutted out a 3-1 win to pull the Jays within 19-16. Neither wrestler scored in the first two periods, but Eckstein chose the bottom at the start of the third and got an escape and late takedown for his second win of the season.

Prior to the match, Elizabethtown recognized former team member Benn Druck '91, who passed away suddenly at age 47 last Sept.

The Blue Jays will take get an extended break before heading to York (Pa.) for a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Elizabethtown vs. Shippensburg Tuesday, January 12, 2016 • Elizabethtown, Pa. (Thompson Gymnasium)
Wt.		EC	SU
125	Philip Torresani (EC) dec. Dustin Steffenino (SU), 8-4 (SV1)	3	0
133	Bryan Pflanz (EC) dec. Dante Steffenino (SU), 7-0	6	0
141	#NR/HM Mike Lammer (EC) dec. Jared Leonetti (SU), 13-8	9	0
149	Mike Springer (SU) dec. Chad Lammer (EC), 8-4	9	3
157	Adam Martz (SU) won by forfeit	9	9
165	Mark Lentz (SU) maj. dec. Chris Kummerer (EC), 9-1	9	13
174	Gray Garber (SU) dec. Quinn Ruble (EC), 14-7	9	16
184	Rocco Hladney (EC) maj. dec. Shane Springer (SU), 17-6	13	16
197	Evan Ramos (SU) dec. #NR/CT Luke Fernandez (EC), 3-2	13	19
285	Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. Derek Earnest (SU), 3-1	16	19
Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 197/285; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Luke Fernandez: 197; 6' 2"; Junior

Chris Kummerer: 157/165; 5' 7"; Sophomore

Chad Lammer: 149/157; 5' 7"; Senior

Mike Lammer: 141; 5' 7"; Senior

Bryan Pflanz: 133; 5' 5"; Senior

Quinn Ruble: 174; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Philip Torresani: 125; 5' 3"; Sophomore

Rocco Hladney: 184; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: 197/285

Luke Fernandez
: 6' 2"; Junior
: 197

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: 157/165

Chad Lammer
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 149/157

Mike Lammer
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 141

Bryan Pflanz
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 133

Quinn Ruble
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: 174

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: 125

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: 184