ELIZABETHTHOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Thursday, March 20, 2008

Late Juniata Rally Stuns Etown, 15-14 in 10 innings

Click here for the box score

HUNTINGDON, Pa. --- Greg Hoffman's RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Juniata College a 15-14 come-from-behind victory over Elizabethtown College in non-conference baseball action on Thursday afternoon.

The Eagles (5-6 overall) trailed 11-1 in the sixth inning and 14-2 in the seventh, but scored 12 runs over the final three frames to force extra innings before winning in the tenth.

Hoffman went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and three runs scored for Juniata as part of an 18-hit attack. John Martinez finished 3-for-5 with five runs batted in and Adam Spadafora added four hits and three runs scored for the Eagles.

Junior Sam Heaps (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove) went 4-for-4 with two doubles, four runs scored and three RBI for the Blue Jays (6-5 overall), while senior Jared Auman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy) went 3-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and four runs batted in.

Elizabethtown scored four runs in the top of the first inning on n RBI double by Heaps, a two-run single from junior Tom Semanek (Swoyersville, PA/Bishop Hoban) and an error. The Blue Jays added two runs in the second on an RBI single by Heaps and an RBI double by Auman to take a 6-0 lead.

The Jays built their lead to 9-0 in the fourth on an error, an RBI double by Heaps and an RBI double by senior Brandon Watson (Philadelphia, PA/Central).

Juniata got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Martinez, but the Blue Jays went ahead 11-1 in the sixth on a two-run home run by Auman, his first of the year.

The Eagles pushed another run across the plate in the sixth on an RBI single by Steve Wilk, but Elizabethtown tacked on three more in the seventh on a two-run single by sophomore Rodney Francis (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) and an RBI double by Auman to take a 14-2 lead.

Heaps started on the mound for the Blue Jays and scattered six hits and two runs over six innings while striking out eight, but Juniata got through to the Blue Jay bullpen for five runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Hoffman, an error, a hit batsman and a wlk to pull within 14-7.

The Eagles added four more runs in the eighth on a passed ball, an RBI double by Martinez, a run-scoring single from Wilk and a groundout to cut the Blue Jay lead to 14-11 entering the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Small singled home Spadafora to pull the Eagles within 14-12, and Martinez capped the comeback with a two-run double with one out to tie the score. Hoffman then gave Juniata the win with a bases-loaded hit with one out in the tenth.

Junior Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, PA/West Perry) went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, and smacked his 17th career triple to tie the program career record set by Jon Hendl from 1992 to 1995.

Francis finished 2-for-6 with three runs scored for the Blue Jays, whose top four hitters combined for 12 runs, 12 hits and nine runs batted in for the game.

Chad Kulik (1-0) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief for the Eagles, while senior Chris Minakowski (Roslyn, PA/Abington) surrendered seven hits and four runs in two innings of relief to drop to 1-1 on the year for the Blue Jays.

Juniata College 15, Elizabethtown Coll. 14
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Elizabethtown Coll.. 420 302 300 0 - 14 18 4 (6-5)
Juniata College..... 000 101 543 1 - 15 18 4 (5-6)
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Sam Heaps, Dan Lauletta (7), Kurt Smith (7), Chris Minakowski (8) and Tom Semanek; John Love, Marty Hauck (4), Anthony Martini (7), Chad Kulik (9) and Greg Hoffman. WP-Kulik (1-0). LP-Minakowski (1-1). SO-BB: Heaps 8-2, Lauletta 0-2, Smith 0-4, Minakowski 1-2; Love 0-3, Hauck 1-1, Martini 0-1, Kulik 1-0. HR-Jared Auman (E).