ELIZABETHTHOWN COLLEGE BASEBALL
Saturday, May 3, 2008

Messiah Takes Commonwealth Conference Title With 7-3 Win Over Elizabethtown

Click here for the game one box score
Click here for the game two box score

WEST LAWN, Pa. --- Jeremy Stoltzfus pitched a complete game to lift Messiah College to a 7-3 victory over Elizabethtown College in the championship game of the Commonwealth Conference baseball tournament at Owls Field on Saturday.

The Blue Jays had forced a second game in the title round with a 2-0 victory over the Falcons, as senior Chris Minakowski (Roslyn, PA/Abington) tossed a four-hitter in his second career start.

Messiah scored four runs in the top of the second inning and added single runs in the fifth, seventh and ninth to win the conference for the first time since 2005.

Craig Mease led the Falcons by going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Ben Kirk went 2-for-5 and Jon Shenk finished 2-for-4 as Messiah outhit Elizabethtown 11-8.

Stoltzfus (4-4) allowed eight hits and struck out two in his second complete game in nine starts this season. The Falcons took two out of three games with the Blue Jays in the tournament after being swept in three games in the regular season series.

Junior Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, PA/West Perry) led the Blue Jays (26-12 overall) by going 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored, while sophomore Ben Yeager (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) finished 3-for-4.

The Falcons struck for four runs in the top of the second off Blue Jay sophomore Ryan Barrett (Knox, PA/Keystone), on RBI singles by Ben Snyder, Shenk and Mease and a groundout.

Messiah added a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Jordan Zimmerman, but the Blue Jays got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Sheibley hit his fifth home run of the year.

The Falcons scored again in the seventh on an RBI single by Kirk to take a 6-1 lead, and the Blue Jays answered in their half of the frame on an RBI single by junior Sam Heaps (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove).

The teams traded runs in the ninth as Messiah scored on an error and the Blue Jays tallied on a ground out.

Barrett (1-2) lasted 1 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays, allowing five hits and four runs. The Elizabethtown bullpen combined to allow three runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings of relief work.

In game one, Minakowski, making his second career start after 52 relief appearances, threw a four-hit shutout while junior Tom Semanek (Swoyersville, PA/Bishop Hoban) hit a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Blue Jays the victory.

Minakowski (3-2), who lasted just two innings in his previous start in 2006 and whose longest career outing was four innings, struck out one and walked one in the win. He recorded 18 outs by fly ball, and saw just two Falcon runners reach scoring position on doubles in the third and fourth innings.

Semanek hit his fourth home run of the year in the second inning after senior Jared Auman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy) led off with a double.

Auman finished 2-for-4 for the Blue Jays, the only player on either team with more than one hit in the contest. Elizabethtown finished with a slim 5-4 margin in hits over Messiah.

Travis Thome (4-3) took the loss for Messiah in game one, allowing five hits and two runs in eight-plus innings of work while striking out five and walking one.

Commonwealth Conference Baseball Tournament
at Owls Field - West Lawn, Pa.
Championship round

Elizabethtown Coll. 2, Messiah College 0
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Elizabethtown Coll.. 020 000 000 - 2 5 1 (26-11)
Messiah College..... 000 000 000 - 0 4 2 (26-16)
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Chris Minakowski and Jared Auman; Travis Thome, Kurt Heim (9) and Ben Kirk. WP-Minakowski (3-2). LP-Thome (4-3). SO-BB: Minakowski 1-1; Thome 5-1, Heim 0-0. HR-Tom Semanek (E).

Messiah College 7, Elizabethtown Coll. 3
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Messiah College..... 040 010 101 - 7 11 0 (27-16)
Elizabethtown Coll.. 000 010 011 - 3 8 3 (26-12)
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Jeremy Stoltzfus and Ben Kirk; Ryan Barrett, Dan Lauletta (2), Matt Kutz (7), Kurt Smith (8) and Jared Auman. WP-Stoltzfus (4-4). LP-Barrett (1-2). SO-BB: Stoltzfus 2-3; Barrett 0-0, Lauletta 1-3, Kutz 1-0, Smith 1-1. HR-Adam Sheibley (E).