FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Saturday, May 1, 1999

ETOWN WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON WITH DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT AGAINST WIDENER; BLUE JAYS OPEN MAC PLAYOFFS AT HOME WEDNESDAY

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Brad Karli (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) knocked in the go-ahead run in a four-run fifth inning and Jamie Newton (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) worked 5-2/3 strong innings to earn the game-two victory as Elizabethtown split a doubleheader with Widener in MAC Commonwealth League action on Saturday.

The Pioneers clinched a bid to the MAC playoffs with a 4-2 win in the opener.  The Blue Jays answered with a 7-4 win in game two to finish the regular season at 25-9 overall and 12-2 in the league.  Etown, which won the league title for the fourth time in six years, will host the second seed from the MAC Freedom League in the first round of the conference playoffs on Wednesday, May 5.  Game time is 2:30 p.m.

Joe Adams (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the Etown attack in the second game while Jared Ness and Tim Downing each scored a pair of runs.  Frank Ciakoski drove in a pair of runs in the opener for Widener (20-11, 9-5 MAC Commonwealth League) while Tom Scartozzi went the distance, allowing two runs on six hits and struck out three to earn his sixth win of the season.

In game one, the Pioneers took advantage of five Blue Jay errors to pick up the win.  Tom Kivlin reached on an error and scored on Ciakoski's sacrifice fly to stake his team to a 1-0 lead in the first inning.   Widener made it 4-0 in the sixth courtesy of three Etown errors, a hit batter and another Ciakoski sac fly.  Pete DeCamillo drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the second Pioneer run of the inning.

Etown cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, two-run double from Kiah Sheppard (Bridgeton, N.J./Cumberland Regional), but Scartozzi worked out of further trouble before closing the door in the seventh.

In the nightcap, Widener scored all four of its runs in the first inning, but the Blue Jays fought back thanks to five walks and two hit batters by losing pitcher Mark Versuk.

In the second inning, Etown loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter before Karli drew another free pass to force in Sheppard and Chris Turtell lofted a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-2.

In the fifth, Downing walked and scored on an RBI double by Scott Weigle to make it 4-3.  Chris Romig was hit by a pitch and Sheppard advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Ness walked to load the bases with one out.  Adams then singled to tie the game and chase Versuk and Karli greeted reliever Dave Feight with an RBI single that put the Blue Jays on top for good at 5-4.

Shawn Price's RBI grounder plated Ness to close out the fifth and Etown added an insurance run in the seventh with Ness singled home Downing with two outs.

Newton allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out three over 5-2/3 innings to pick up his third win of the year and second in as many weeks.  Derik Aasan got the final four outs to record his team-best third save of the season.
 

Game One	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	-	R	H	E
Widener (20-10, 9-4)	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	-	4	6	1
Elizabethtown (24-9, 11-2)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	-	2	6	5

Tom Scartozzi and Mark Murray; Bryan Pittinger and Kiah Sheppard. WP: Scartozzi (6-3). LP: Pittinger (5-5). SO-BB: Scartozzi 3-2, Pittinger 3-3. 2B: Chris Romig (E), Sheppard (E).
 

Game Two	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	-	R	H	E
Widener (20-11, 9-5)	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	4	8	0
Elizabethtown (25-9, 12-2)	0	2	0	1	4	1	x	-	7	8	3

Mark Versuk, Dave Feight (5) and Murray; Jamie Newton, Derik Aasan (6) and Sheppard. WP: Newton (3-1). LP: Versuk (6-2). SV: Aasan (3). SO-BB: Versuk 0-5, Feight 0-0, Newton 3-1, Aasan 0-0. 2B: Scott Gleichenhaus (W), Chris Turtell (E), Scott Weigle (E).