BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian College baseball team defeated third seed Elizabethtown College, 7-3, in the final game of a best-of-three Landmark Conference Semifinal series at Gillespie Field Sunday afternoon to clinch a berth in the championship round next weekend.
The Landmark Conference switched this spring from a double-elimination tournament to a pair of best-of-three semifinals series at the top two seeds and then a best-of-three championship series at the highest remaining seed. The Hounds, 20-18 on the season, will host that best-of-three Landmark Championship series against fourth seeded The Catholic University of America after the Cardinals knocked off top seed The University of Scranton, 7-5, in the final game of the other semifinal series on Sunday. First pitch of the opening game is slated for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8 at Gillespie Field. The second game is scheduled for Saturday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. with the if necessary game to follow 30 minutes after that contest if needed.
"We were ecstatic to make the postseason. It gives you a chance and that is all you can ask for," commented ninth-year Head Coach Paul Engelhardt on the change on the conference postseason setup. "The pitching that we've been getting on the weekend has been more consistent and more competitive for us, and we've been playing our best baseball on the weekend so we liked out chances in the two-out-of-three format. The guys are used to it and everyone on the team has been in this situation before so I didn't think they were stressed at all. I knew if we got here, home or away, it would be a good situation."
Moravian had 11 hits against the Blue Jays on Sunday with senior second baseman Alex Longernecker going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Senior designated hitter Ryan Luke, junior first baseman Charles Savite, senior left fielder Justin Pilchman and sophomore center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello were all 2-for-4 at the plate in the game with Savite driving in four runs.
"It kind of helped to take the edge off by scoring early," Engelhardt stated. "Mazzella was throwing strikes and we were making plays behind him so getting on the scoreboard early put him at ease to play the game. I don't think it would have mattered if we were down 10-1 after an inning, the guys were committed to playing out every second today."
The Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Pilchman connected on a one out double to left center. Junior third baseman Alex Bull grounded out to move Pilchman, and after a walk by junior catcher Mike Roethke, Longernecker ripped an RBI single to center field to score Pilchman.
Moravian added three runs in the bottom of the third inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Luke singled through the left side, and senior right fielder Matt Hanson, who was playing in his school record 157th career game, drew a walk. After a pitching change, Savite connected on a 1-1 pitch for a three-run homer to right field, his second home run of the season.
The Blue & Grey added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 6-0 lead. Longernecker led off with single to left field. Gaetaniello put down a bunt as he beat the throw for a single, and a throwing error on the play that let Longernecker score from first base and move Gaetaniello to third. Senior shortstop Colin Case followed with an RBI sacrifice fly as Gaetaniello raced across the plate.
Case added four assists in the field to give him 368 assists in his career, breaking the previous mark of 365 set Dave Zubia '12.
Elizabethtown would get on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth with a single run, and the Blue Jays added two runs in the top of the eighth to cut the Hounds' lead to 7-3.
Freshman Nicholas Mazzella improved to 5-0 on the mound for Moravian, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with one strikeout in seven-plus innings of work. Junior Brett Wagner tossed the final two innings with one strikeout.
"We've done it before. It is easier on the kids to be home, especially with finals this week, but it might not be as easy on the administrators or the coaches," Engelhardt said. "The kids can relax, practice when we can around exams. Obviously we'll have a great crowd being at home and the guys will be excited. I think that gives us an advantage but we still need to show up and make the plays on the field against Catholic."
