ELIZABETHTHOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Elizabethtown Dropped by Alvernia, 9-7

Click here for the box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- A late Elizabethtown College rally fell short as Alvernia College posted a 9-7 victory in non-conference baseball action on Tuesday afternoon at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.

Junior Sam Heaps (Landenburg, PA/Avon Grove) led the Blue Jays (16-9 overall) by going 2 for 5 with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in, but the Crusaders (25-8 overall) used a five-run second inning to take command.

Alvernia put a run on the board in the first, but Etown answered in the bottom half of the inning. Junior Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, PA/West Perry) singled to lead off the inning, stole second and sophomore Rodney Francis (Pottstown, PA/Owen J Roberts) singled to drive in Sheibley.   

Elizabethtown gave up five runs in the second as Blue Jay pitching had control problems allowing six walks, while Chris Stoudt had the lone hit in the inning for Alvernia, a two-run single. The Blue Jays scored in the fifth when Sheibley reached on a walk, stole second and advanced to third on an infield put-out at first. Sheibley scored on a wild pitch to cut the Alvernia lead to 6-2.

Alvernia put up three more runs in the sixth as Stoudt drilled a two-run double to left. Trailing 9-2, Etown bats got hot in the 8th, as Heaps doubled to lead-off the inning, advanced to third on a fly ball to center by senior Jared Auman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy) and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by first year student Andrew Gordon (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco). 

With two outs in the inning, senior Chris Minakowski (Roslyn, PA/Abington) blooped a ball into center that was misplayed by the center fielder. Sophomore Ben Yeager (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) singled to put runners on the corners, sophomore Brian Kiernan (Garden City, NY/Garden City) drilled an RBI double scoring Minakowski.  Yeager scored on a passed ball to make the score 9-5, sophomore Eric Luff (Lincoln University, PA/Avon Grove) doubled to drive in Kiernan to bring the Blue Jays within 9-6.

The Blue Jays added one in the ninth, as Heaps hit his second double of the game, advanced to third on an infield ground out by Auman, and scored on a wild pitch.

Mike Lloyd (1-0) pitched five innings and allowed two runs on four hits to gain the win, while junior Kurt Smith (York, PA/Eastern York) dropped to 1-2 after yielding five runs on one hit in 1 1/3 innings.

Alvernia College 9, Elizabethtown Coll. 7
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Alvernia College.... 150 003 000 - 9 8 1 (25-8)
Elizabethtown Coll.. 100 010 041 - 7 9 0 (16-9)
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Mike Lloyd, Pete Fernandez (6), Andrew Long (8) and David Zimmerman; Kurt Smith, Steve Shuleski (2), Wayne Leonard (3), Greg Katz (6), Dan Lauletta (6), Chris Minakowski (8), Ryan Barrett (9) and Tom Semanek, Jared Auman (8). SO-BB: Lloyd 5-4, Fernandez 0-0, Long 1-0; Smith 1-5, Shuleski 1-2, Leonard 1-0, Katz 0-2, Lauletta 1-0, Minakowski 1-0, Barrett 1-1.