Kevin Elwell vs. Swarthmore 2/26/17
5
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 1-0
2
Swarthmore SWA 0-3
Winner
Elizabethtown ETOWN
1-0
5
Final
2
Swarthmore SWA
0-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Elizabethtown ETOWN 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 5 11 0
Swarthmore SWA 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 2

W: Elwell, Kevin (1-0) L: Noah Linhart (0-1)

4
Swarthmore SWA 0-4
9
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 2-0
Swarthmore SWA
0-4
4
Final
9
Elizabethtown ETOWN
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Swarthmore SWA 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 4 8 3
Elizabethtown ETOWN 0 4 0 2 0 3 X 9 11 2

W: Stinar, Braden (1-0) L: Adam Schauer (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball sweeps Swarthmore on opening day

ASTON, Pa. -- Sunday marked the start of the 2017 season for the Elizabethtown College baseball team, but many players performed like they were already in midseason form. Reigning Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year Kevin Elwell tossed a complete game four-hitter in game one and the offense provided 11 hits in both games as the Blue Jays swept Swarthmore by scores of 5-2 and 9-4 at MSI Sports Village.

GAME 1
Elizabethtown 5, Swarthmore 2

Elwell took a shutout and one-hitter into the sixth inning before the Garnet (0-4) were able to mount anything. After allowing a one-out single in the top of the first, Elizabethtown's ace settled in with the pace and effectiveness that earned him conference and regional awards in 2016. Elwell retired the next 13 batters he faced, which included 1-2-3 innings in the second, third, fourth and fifth.

With Elwell cruising, the Blue Jays went to work on offense. None of their 11 hits went for extra bases, but it didn't matter.

In the second, Nick Lorenz took advantage of a Swarthmore error to single home sophomore Mike Christy with the first run of the season. E-town tacked on single runs in the third (Christy RBI single) and fourth (Kyle Fackler RBI single) before extending its lead to 5-0 in the top of the sixth.

Jackson Roberts' pinch-hit RBI triple and Charles Levitt's run-scoring single accounted for the Garnet's only runs in a two-run, three-hit sixth, but head coach Cliff Smith showed well-deserved trust in Elwell. The Clarks Summit native got out of the inning without further damage and retired Swarthmore in order in the seventh for his 19th career victory and 11th complete game. Elwell moved into a sixth-place tie with Chris Grubb and Bryan Pittinger on the program's career wins list.

Elwell surrendered two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out four. His counterpart, Noah Linhart, allowed eight hits and three runs --two earned-- over five innings.

Christy, Fackler, Lorenz and Frank Ragozzino each had two hits for the Blue and Gray. Senior center fielder Richy Masciarelli, coming off a junior season in which he scored 50 runs, crossed the plate twice in game one.

Elizabethtown won its fourth straight season opener and improved to 6-5 in season debuts under Smith.

GAME 2
Elizabethtown 9, Swarthmore 4

Forced to play from behind early in game two, the Blue Jays (2-0) used three big innings to complete the sweep.

Elizabethtown erased a 2-0 Garnet lead in the bottom of the second by pushing four runs across. James Kantner's single to score Christy started a string of three straight run-producing hits for the Jays.

Fackler plated Lorenz with a single through the right side to tie the game at two and Masciarelli drove a shot up the middle that scored Kantner and Anthony Knight for a 4-2 lead.

The Blue Jays would not trail again.

When Swarthmore closed within 4-3 in the top of the fourth, E-town responded by scoring twice in the bottom half of the inning for a 6-3 advantage.

Knight would draw a bases loaded walk in the sixth and Kantner closed his three-hit, three-RBI game with a two-run single past a diving Cole Beeker for the Blue Jays' final runs of the afternoon.

Kantner paced the Jays' offense in game two. The sophomore had a pair of singles and a triple in four at-bats.

Masciarelli went 2 for 5 and stole a single-game career-high four bases to push his season total to five in two games. He had a team-high 15 in 2016.

Fackler was 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two walks and Lorenz joined Fackler in collecting his second multi-hit game of the day. Lorenz went 2 for 3 with a pair of runs scored.

Junior Anthony Lippy took to the mound for E-town in the nightcap. Lippy gave up three runs on five hits over three innings. Braden Stinar relieved him and earned the win by striking out two in 1.2 scoreless innings.

Sophomore Jared Witner made his collegiate debut and registered his first career strikeout. Witner was followed by Nate Baxter (0.2 IP) and Josh Kwak, who fanned two in a perfect seventh.

ON DECK
Elizabethtown's annual Spring Break trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, is just around the corner, but the Blue Jays will make a stop on their way south Wednesday to face nationally-ranked Shenandoah at 3:30 p.m.
 
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