FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Wednesday, May 5, 1999

ETOWN OPENS MAC PLAYOFFS WITH 2-1 WIN OVER FDU-MADISON; BLUE JAYS WILL HOST DREW ON FRIDAY

With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 26-9 and advanced to play Drew University on Friday, May 7 at home in the winner's bracket of the double elimination tournament.  Game time is 10 a.m.  Drew downed Widener, 7-2, in the other opening-round MAC playoff game on Wednesday.

Etown's Derik Aasan (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown) worked 7-1/3 strong innings, scattering six hits while striking out two to earn his sixth win of the season.  Andrew Weinberg took the hard-luck loss for FDU-Madison despite holding the MAC's best-hitting team to five hits while allowing only one earned run over eight innings.  The Devils (15-17) will face Widener in an elimination game on Friday at Lebanon Valley College.  Game time is 10 a.m.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the eighth inning, FDU-Madison cut into the Etown lead, but fell just short of a come-from-behind win.

In the eighth, Ralph Torrillo led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Glenn Barker's ground out.  Greg Reisner drew a walk to chase Aasan from the game and Pittinger unleashed a wild pitch that scored Torrillo to cut the Blue Jay lead to 2-1.

With two outs, Reisner moved to third on another wild pitch and Matt Bernhard walked, but Etown thirdbaseman Chris Romig (Beavertown, Pa./West Snyder) made a tremendous diving stop and throw on a grounder by Keith Gaub to end the threat.

In the ninth, FDU-Madison loaded the bases with one out, but Pittinger struck out Barker and Reisner to seal the victory and notch his second save of the season.

Etown broke the ice in the third inning, when Ness led off with a double, moved to third on a ground out by Brad Karli (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) and scored on Shawn Price's (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) sacrifice fly.

The Blue Jays pushed their lead to 2-0 in the seventh, when Ness knocked in Kiah Sheppard (Bridgeton, N.J./Cumberland Regional) with a two-out single.

Etown, currently ranked seventh in the Mid-Atlantic region, is seeking its third MAC championship in the '90s and its second in the last three years.  The Blue Jays won conference titles in 1993 and 1997.

With a win on Friday, Etown would advance to the MAC championship game on Saturday, May 8 at 10 a.m.  With a loss, the Blue Jays would have to play an elimination game on Friday at 2:30 p.m.  Both games would be at Lebanon Valley.
 

MAC Playoffs, Game #1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	-	R	H	E
FDU-Madison (15-17)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	-	1	7	1
Elizabethtown (26-9)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	x	-	2	5	3

Andrew Weinberg and Kevin Monell; Derik Aasan, Bryan Pittinger (8) and Kiah Sheppard. WP: Aasan (6-2). LP: Weinberg (4-2). SV: Pittinger (2). SO-BB: Weinberg 3-1, Aasan 2-1, Pittinger 2-1. 2B: Jared Ness (E).