Aaron Rahn vs. Susquehanna 4/30/16
Matthew O'Haren
13
Winner Susquehanna SUS 25-14, 16-5 Landmark
3
Elizabethtown ETOWN 23-17, 14-7 Landmark
Winner
Susquehanna SUS
25-14, 16-5 Landmark
13
Final
3
Elizabethtown ETOWN
23-17, 14-7 Landmark
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Susquehanna SUS 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 6 13 18 2
Elizabethtown ETOWN 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 6 2

W: Cole Luzins (3-1) L: Gulla, Nick (3-2)

Next Game:

at Moravian

5/8/2016 | 12 p.m.

Next Game

Full Schedule
May. 08 (Sun) / 12 p.m.
at Moravian
History

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball closes regular season with loss to Susquehanna

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Susquehanna avoided a weekend sweep and clinched the top seed in the Landmark Conference Championships with a 13-3 victory over the Blue Jays Sunday at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.

One day removed from a pair of exhilarating victories, Elizabethtown could not find the magic necessary to bump the Crusaders from their perch atop the conference standings.

Though E-town (23-17, 14-7 Landmark) matched runs with SU through two innings, the visitors manufactured runs in innings 3-6 to take control, 6-3. Susquehanna put the game out of reach with six runs in the top of the ninth.

Justin Cassinelli, front-runner for Landmark Player of the Year, led the Crusader (25-14, 16-5) offense by hitting for the cycle. Cassinelli went 5-for-5 and reached base during all six of his plate appearances. He doubled in the third, singled in the fourth and sixth, hit his league-leading 11th home run in the eighth and tripled in the ninth.

The Susquehanna senior finished his monstrous afternoon with five runs scored and three RBIs.

Bryan Palsi also homered for the Crusaders, who totaled five extra base hits. Palsi was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Six players had multi-hit games for SU, as its offense broke out for 18 hits after being held to half of that in two games Saturday.

Having not played all spring due to an injury, senior Josh Sollenberger got the ball from coach Cliff Smith to start Sunday's game. Sollenberger faced Cassinelli before departing to a standing ovation from his teammates and fans. Fellow senior, Ryan Schamp, whose season was halted prematurely by injury, also got a warm greeting when he pinch hit in the ninth.

Susquehanna would put up a run in its first at-bats, but the Blue Jays came back to tie the game in the bottom of the second. They loaded the bases against Ryan Beckwith and Frank Ragozzino provided a sacrifice fly.

E-town knotted things up at two in the third on Aaron Rahn's RBI double to the wall in center field, but the Crusaders would go in front for good in the top of the fourth.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the second, third and fifth innings, but came away with just two runs. They left 10 runners on base throughout the afternoon.

Rahn had two of Elizabethtown's six hits and was the only Blue Jay with a multi-hit game. Dylan Manning drove in a run.

Nick Gulla went five innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on eight hits. Gulla dropped to 3-2 on the season with the loss. Nate Baxter threw two innings and seniors Sean Jones, Jay Singer and Joseph Williams all made appearances.

Beckwith couldn't make it out of the fifth for SU and took a no decision. Cole Luzins slowed the E-town offense the rest of the way. Luzins limited the Jays to two hits and struck out four without issuing a walk in 4.2 innings.

Elizabethtown will face Moravian in a Landmark Conference semifinals series for the second straight year. Where that series will take place is still to be determined. Third-place Moravian had its regular season finale at Merchant Marine washed out Sunday. The Greyhounds and Mariners will meet Monday at 4 p.m.

A Moravian victory gives the Greyhounds the tiebreaker over E-town (won season series 2-1) and would bump the Blue Jays to third, sending them to Bethlehem for the series May 7-8. If the Mariners win, Elizabethtown would finish second and host Moravian next weekend.
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Nick Gulla

#18 Nick Gulla

RHP
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Sean Jones

#29 Sean Jones

RHP/DH
6' 3"
Senior
L/R
Dylan Manning

#25 Dylan Manning

OF/RHP
6' 4"
Senior
L/R
Frank Ragozzino

#11 Frank Ragozzino

C
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Aaron Rahn

#19 Aaron Rahn

OF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Ryan Schamp

#32 Ryan Schamp

1B
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Jay Singer

#10 Jay Singer

RHP
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Josh Sollenberger

#8 Josh Sollenberger

LHP
6' 1"
Senior
L/L
Joseph Williams

#39 Joseph Williams

RHP
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Nate Baxter

#9 Nate Baxter

1B/LHP
6' 5"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

Nick Gulla

#18 Nick Gulla

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Sean Jones

#29 Sean Jones

6' 3"
Senior
L/R
RHP/DH
Dylan Manning

#25 Dylan Manning

6' 4"
Senior
L/R
OF/RHP
Frank Ragozzino

#11 Frank Ragozzino

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
C
Aaron Rahn

#19 Aaron Rahn

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
OF
Ryan Schamp

#32 Ryan Schamp

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
1B
Jay Singer

#10 Jay Singer

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Josh Sollenberger

#8 Josh Sollenberger

6' 1"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Joseph Williams

#39 Joseph Williams

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Nate Baxter

#9 Nate Baxter

6' 5"
Freshman
L/L
1B/LHP