Tom Armstrong vs. Catholic 4/15/17
11
Winner Catholic CUA 22-8, 10-4 Landmark
2
Elizabethtown ETOWN 16-9, 5-3 Landmark
Winner
Catholic CUA
22-8, 10-4 Landmark
11
Final
2
Elizabethtown ETOWN
16-9, 5-3 Landmark
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Catholic CUA 0 5 0 0 1 0 1 4 0 11 17 1
Elizabethtown ETOWN 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 8 0

W: Mason Belcher (3-0) L: Elwell, Kevin (5-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Catholic jumps on Blue Jays early to take series finale

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Spurred on by a five-run second inning, Catholic denied Elizabethtown a Landmark Conference series sweep Saturday afternoon at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium with an 11-2 victory in the finale.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Elwell carried a 2-0 lifetime record with just three earned runs allowed in 15 innings against the Cardinals into Saturday's matinee, but Catholic finally got the senior righty's number in this one.

Kyle Fackler's lead-off double and Colby Smith's RBI groundout had Elizabethtown poised to rattle CUA starter Mason Belcher early, but Belcher and his league-leading 1.88 ERA escaped additional damage in time for his team to right the ship.

Catholic batted around in the top of the second against Elwell, accumulating five runs on seven hits. Danny O'Hagan and Nick Kuczarski hit doubles and five other Cardinals (22-8, 10-4 Landmark) singled in the frame.

Elwell would settle in over the next two innings, but the Blue Jays (16-9, 5-3) could never mount a rally against Belcher the way they did in the bottom of the seventh against CUA closer Joseph Salzano in Friday's game two, 4-3, walk-off victory.

Belcher cruised through eight innings allowing two earned runs on eight hits and fanning seven.

Freshman first baseman Tom Armstrong went 2 for 4 with his first career hit and RBI for Elizabethtown. Armstrong beat out a dribbler to third in the bottom of the third and brought home Anthony Knight with a single to left in the seventh.

Fackler also was one of the few Blue Jays to find success against Belcher. The Harrisburg native hit safely three times in four at-bats, doubled twice and scored a run. A day after passing Dillon Tagle for second on the program's career hits list, Fackler inched closer to Brad Duppstadt's school record of 200 with Nos. 187, 188 and 189. The senior also surpassed Rick Lutz for third and tied Chris Romig for second with his 43rd and 44th career doubles.

Smith, who went over 100 career hits in Friday's doubleheader sweep, added another Saturday, finishing 1 for 4. Nick Bein was 2 for 4 to account for the remainder of Elizabethtown's eight hits, while Knight walked twice and scored a run.

Connor Sullivan led Catholic with four hits (4 for 5). Sullivan also scored twice and drove in two. Brennan Cotter went 3 for 4 with two runs and a solo home run --his fourth of the season-- and Kuczarski was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and a game-high three RBIs for the Cards.

Elizabethtown will play the final game of its conference series with Moravian, rescheduled from March 26, Monday at 4 p.m., in Bethlehem.
 
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