May 4, 2007

Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - Two Gettysburg runs in the eighth proved to be the difference as the Bullets outlasted Franklin & Marshall for a 10-8 win in the opening round of the 2007 Centennial Conference Baseball championships on Friday. Top-seeded Franklin & Marshall fell to 21-13 on the year, and will face the second-seed, Johns Hopkins, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. on Caplan Field in the first elimination game. Hopkins fell 6-3 in Baltimore at the hands of Ursinus.

Gettysburg's (26-11) ace, Chris Liegel, remained unbeaten at 9-0 on the season. The Centennial's Pitcher of the Year held Franklin & Marshall scoreless through six innings. He worked seven-and-one-thirds, allowing eight runs, four earned, on 13 hits. The bulk of the damage came late when F&M's bats finally sprung to life.

The Diplomats' troubles started in the second when Bullets' catcher, Mike Donohue got on board on a one-out error. Gettysburg's leftfielder, Mark Campo, moved him into scoring position with a single into centerfield, before Sean McGee drove him home. Campo later scored on a Mike Backus single into center giving Gettysburg a 2-0 lead before Diplomats starter, Brad Andres (6-3 - Belle Mead, NJ / Carroll) was able to work out of the jam.

McGee's hit was the first of three on the day for the Bullets' centerfielder. He went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in and another scored. Ben Carey also went 3-for-5 for Gettysburg, who pounded the Diplomats for 17 hits. Carey drove in a run and scored once. Brian Pernice was one of four Bullets with two hits in the contest. He knocked in three and scored twice.

Amongst Pernice's hits was a fourth inning double that plated Scott Vladyka and McGee. The Bullets posted four six runs on eight hits in the fourth. Three of the hits were doubles. All of the doubles came home, and the Bullets held 8-0 following the frame.

The Diplomats finally got the offense going with a Shea Moriarty (Wilton, CT / Wilton) one-out double in the seventh followed by a Gordon Pellegrini (Sparkhill, NY / Tappan Zee) single. Catcher, Billy McGuire (Chappaqua, NY / Horace Greeley) then reached on a Vladyka error at short that got Moriarty onto third. Andrew Hanson (Lansdale, PA / Germantown Acad.) brought the first F&M run home with a sacrifice fly into rightfield, and Pellegrini followed him in when Vladyka muffed the throw on the attempt to nab McGuire at second.

Mark Minutaglio (Armonk, NY / Byram Hills) cut the Bullet lead in half with a swing of the bat. His second round-trip of the season was a two-run shot to left that plated McGuire to make it an 8-4 ballgame.

The Bullets got two back in the top of the eighth, sparked by a Vladyka leadoff walk. A Pernice single to left was enough to get Vladyka, already on the move, home from first for what became the game-winning run, while a fielding error in left allowed Pernice second. Carey plated Pernice to make it 10-4 Gettysburg.

F&M continued to chip away getting four runs on five hits in the bottom of the eighth. Back-to-back singles by Jeffrey Rowand (York, PA / Dallastown) and Rich Gallugi (Peadbody, MA / St. Johns Prep) quickly became runs when Moriarty plated Rowand on a fielder's choice, and Gallugi scored on a double into left center that ended Liegel's day.

Will Kleva came on with a 10-6 lead that was cut down to 10-8 by the first batter he faced, McGuire. His single into left scored both Moriarty and Pellegrini, but Kleva worked out of the inning with a double play, then retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the Bullets' win. Pellegrini went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and one driven in for F&M.