ELIZABETHTHOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Friday, April 18, 2008

Blue Jays Pound Messiah 12-4 in Series Opener

Click here for the box score

GRANTHAM, Pa. --- Junior Sam Heaps (Landenburg, PA/Avon Grove) pitched and hit Elizabethtown College to a 12-4 victory over Messiah College in the opener of their three-game Commonwealth Conference baseball series on Friday afternoon.

Heaps went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs batted in, and allowed one earned run in five innings to get the win for the Blue Jays (17-9 overall, 6-1 Commonwealth), who finished with 16 hits against the Falcons (22-11 overall, 7-3 Commonwealth).

Senior Jared Auman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy) finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, while four players added two hits for Elizabethtown, which won its fifth straight conference game to move into first place over Messiah

After Messiah left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning, Elizabethtown struck for six runs on six hits in the top of the second off Falcon starter Dan Kern, as junior Tom Semanek (Swoyersville, PA/Bishop Hoban) and sophomore Matt Vinagro (Fredericksburg, VA/Stafford) had RBI singles, sophomore Eric Luff (Lincoln University, PA/Avon Grove) added an RBI double, sophomore Rodney Francis (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) drew a bases-loaded walk and Heaps roped a two-run single to give the Blue Jays a 6-0 lead.

The Blue Jays tacked on a run in the fifth on a solo homer by Heaps, his second of the season, but the Falcons struck for two runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Ben Jordan and an error to pull within 7-2.

Elizabethtown posted four runs in the sixth on an RBI double by junior Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, PA/West Perry), a two-run error and a fielder's choice. Messiah scored in the eighth on a solo home run by Craig Mease to cut the Elizabethtown lead to 11-3, and the teams traded runs in the ninth on a groundout by Semanek and a solo homer by Ben Kirk.

Sheibley and Vinagro each finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Elizabethtown, while Semanek went 2-for-5 with two RBI and sophomore Ben Yeager (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) finished 2-for-5 in the victory.

Kirk went 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Falcons, who finished with 13 hits as a team. Sheldon Witmer and Jordan Zimmerman each went 2-for-5 as all nine starters hit safely for Messiah.

Kern (5-3) allowed 11 hits and nine runs (eight earned) in 5 1/3 innings for the Falcons, while Heaps improved to 4-1 after striking out three in his five innings of work. Senior Chris Minakowski (Roslyn, PA/Abington) closed with four innings of relief, allowing five hits and two runs.

Elizabethtown Coll. 12, Messiah College 4
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Elizabethtown Coll.. 060 014 001 - 12 16 1 (17-9)
Messiah College..... 000 020 011 - 4 13 1 (22-11)
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Sam Heaps, Chris Minakowski (6) and Tom Semanek; Dan Kern, Chandler Sheaffer (6), Eric Spring (8) and Ben Kirk. WP-Heaps (4-1). LP-Kern (5-3). SO-BB: Heaps 3-3, Minakowski 0-2; Kern 1-3, Sheaffer 0-0, Spring 2-1. HR-Sam Heaps (E), Craig Mease (M), Ben Kirk (M).