GRANTHAM, Pa. - Five different pitchers combined for a one-hitter in game two, as the Elizabethtown College baseball team salvaged a split against Messiah, falling in game one 6-3, before taking game two, 4-1, Saturday afternoon.

With the split, the Blue Jays sit at 18-18 overall, while the Falcons move to 18-17.

GAME ONE: MESSIAH 6 ELIZABETHTOWN 3

Messiah jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth and would hold onto the advantage the rest of the way, topping Etown 6-3 in game one.

Senior Robbie Bertucio finished the game 1-1 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored. Classmate James Vito went 2-5 with a double and a run scored, while senior Tyler McGonigle tallied an RBI as well.

Senior Reed Wagner led the Falcons with a team-high two RBI.

Trailing 2-0 in the top of the sixth, the Blue Jays cut the deficit in half. With runners on second and third and one out, McGonigle grounded out to the shortstop but brought Vito around to score to make it 2-1 midway through the sixth.

Messiah added three more in the bottom of the sixth to go up 5-1, but one swing of the bat in the seventh put Etown back within three. After junior Ben Watson led off the inning with a single to right field, Bertucio stepped in and blasted a home run over the left field fence to make the score 5-3 in the seventh.

The Falcons would add one more in the bottom of the seventh and would then induce a double play to end the game with the tying run at the plate and earn the game one win, 6-3.

Graduate student Tyler Dunbar (3-6)  allowed five earned runs on nine hits and struck out three through six innings of work. Senior Nathaniel Barnes closed out the game with a strong effort, giving up no runs and no hits, while striking out four.

Senior Dennis Snyder (2-1) earned the win for Messiah, throwing five shutout inning.

GAME TWO: ELIZABETHTOWN 4 MESSIAH 1
    
Led by freshman Kyle Mulville's five shutout innings, Etown grabbed game two with the 4-1 victory over Messiah.

Graduate student Andrew Fisher, Watson, Bertucio, and Vito each finished game two with an RBI. Sophomore AJ Bednar went 2-2 with a run scored and a double. 

Junior Sam Zercher registered the Falcons' lone RBI.

Holding a 1-0 lead after an RBI single from Vito in the top of the fourth, the Blue Jays added two more runs in the fifth. With runners on first and third, Fisher launched a sacrifice fly to left center, plating junior Justin Wetzel and giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. A few batters later, Bertucio knocked a double down the left field line, scoring McGonigle and stretching Etown's advantage to three.

Watson pushed Etown's lead to four in the top of the seventh, slapping a RBI single down the left field line, plating McGonigle and making the score 4-1.

In the bottom of the ninth, Messiah made the score 4-1, but junior Zach Silfies slammed the door on any comeback, striking out sophomore Joshua Ammons to end the game.

Sophomore Johnathan Travisano, Mulville (4-1), senior Eric Sipling, junior Ben Stovall, and Silfies (S, 2) combined to allow one earned run on one hit and struck out eight. 

Senior Josh Monturo (2-4) took the loss, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and striking out three over five innings. 

Elizabethtown wraps up the regular season next weekend with its final Landmark series of the season against Moravian, Opening pitch of the doubleheader on Saturday, April 30 is set for 12 p.m.