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Baseball Falls to Catholic in Landmark Championship Series

Baseball Falls to Catholic in Landmark Championship Series

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian College baseball team dropped a pair of games Saturday in the Landmark Conference Championship series at Gillespie Field, falling to fourth seeded The Catholic University of America, 10-6 in the opening game of the day, and 16-12 in the if necessary game.

"We got down by a lot in that second game but our guys showed a lot of heart by fighting back and competed like champions," commented ninth-year Head Coach Paul Engelhardt, who earned his 200th career victory back in March. "I'm very proud of how our players competed today but we just wish the result could have been a little different."

This is the first year that the Landmark has used both three-game series for the semifinals and championship after using a double-elimination tournament for the first seven years of the conference's history. Moravian defeated third seed Elizabethtown College, 2-1, while Catholic knocked off top seed The University of Scranton, 2-1, last weekend to set up this weekend's series in Bethlehem. The Blue & Grey won the opener, 6-4, on Friday and finish the 2015 season at 21-20 overall.

Moravian had eight hits in the first game on Saturday with sophomore center fielder Anthony Gaetaniello going 3-for-4 and senior right fielder Matt Hanson turning in a 2-for-4 game.

The Cardinals, who won their fourth Landmark title, scored three runs in the top of the second inning for an early lead. Moravian would answer back with a run in the bottom of the third inning when Gaetaniello led off with a single and stole second base before scoring on an RBI single through the left side by senior designated hitter Ryan Luke.

Catholic pushed the lead to 4-1 with a run on the top of the fourth.

The Greyhounds scored four times in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Gaetaniello once again started things off with an infield single before moving to second on a wild pitch. After senior shortstop Colin Case reached on an error, Luke put down an RBI sacrifice bunt to score Gaetaniello. Hanson followed with a two-run homer to right field, his first home run of the season to tie the game at 4-4. Junior first baseman Charles Savite reached on a bunt single and stole second base before he scored on an RBI single from senior left fielder Justin Pilchman.

Moravian's lead would be short-lived as the Cardinals tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth. However, the Greyhounds got the run back in the home half of the sixth to go back in front, 6-5. Junior catcher Mike Roethke reached on an error and raced home on an RBI double by Gaetaniello.

Catholic would score three times in the seventh and two more runs in the top of the eighth to earn the victory and force the if necessary contest.

The Hounds used four pitchers in the opener with freshman starter Ryan Kahn striking out two batters in four innings of action. Senior Chris Lansberry tossed 2.1 innings while freshman Adam Howard and junior Tommy Natale-Drown both pitching 1.1 innings.

Both squads would have 18 hits in the offensive battle in the final game of the series. Case was 3-for-5 for the Greyhounds while Savite, Pilchman, Roethke, Gaetaniello, senior second baseman Alex Longernecker and junior third baseman Alex Bull all went 2-for-5 and Luke turned in a 2-for-4 performance.

Once again, Catholic took an early lead with two runs in the second inning and another in the third for a 3-0 advantage.

The Greyhounds would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when Luke connected on a sacrifice fly that scored Gaetaniello.

The Cardinals added three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning for an 8-1 lead.

Moravian scored again in the bottom of the fifth when Case singled up the middle with two outs and scored when Hanson ripped a double to right field that just missed clearing the six-foot outfield fence by about a foot.

Catholic added two runs in the top of the sixth for a 10-2 advantage and looked to have the game in hand.

However, the Hounds would bat around in the bottom of the seventh and score seven runs to pull within a run at 10-9. Longernecker started the inning with a double to right center, and he scored on an RBI single by Gaetaniello. Case would single, and Luke walked to load the bases. Hanson grounded into an RBI fielder's choice before Savite hit an RBI single through the left side. After Pilchman singled to load the bases again, Bull drilled a three-RBI double to the gap in right center. Roethke would score Bull with the final run of the inning with an RBI single down the left field line.

The Cardinals countered back with six runs in the top of the eighth to push the lead back to 16-9.

Moravian wasn't done yet with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Case reached on an error, and Hanson was hit by a pitch with one out. Savite then dropped a two-RBI triple into the right field corner that scored Case and Hanson. Pilchman followed with an RBI ground out as Savite raced home.

The Greyhounds would put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning before the game ended with the tying run in the on deck circle.

The Blue & Grey used six pitchers in the game with freshman Nicholas Mazzella starting and striking out three batters before leaving with an injury after two innings. Freshmen Bryan Schoch and John Wiedmayer each tossed two innings with Wiedmayer recording a strikeout while junior Anthony Zaloga pitched one inning with one strikeout. Junior Brett Wagner tossed the final 1.2 innings while junior Hunter Guard pitched a third of an inning for the Greyhounds.

Saturday marked the end of the careers for seven seniors – Case, Hanson, Luke, Pilchman, Lansberry, Longernecker and Joey DiSarno. The group posted a 105-67 mark in four seasons with two appearances in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, four trips to the Landmark Conference Championship game, a school record 32 wins in 2014 and the program's first-ever national ranking in 2014.

The seniors also put together some high offensive numbers at the plate as the combined for 756 hits in 2,338 at-bats, a .323 career average, to go along with 513 runs scored, 138 doubles, 34 triples, 13 home runs, 422 RBIs, 234 walks and 142 stolen bases. The group set or tied seven school game, season and career records and are listed throughout the top ten in Moravian's record books. Three players joined Moravian's 100-hit club – Hanson with 210 hits becoming the second player to reach 200 hits, Luke with 168 hits and Case with 154 hits while Pilchman had a career-best 45 hits in 2015 to finish with 99 career hits.

"The senior class made it to this exact day all four years to play for a conference championship, and they showed the heart of a champion by competing the way that they did out on this field today," stated Engelhardt. "It isn't easy any year at the end since we spend so much time with them. It's been almost five months since we started practice inside back in January.

"This senior class may have had the best four-year run in school history and definitely the best since I started here. They've had a lot of individual accolades but most importantly, I proud of how they represented this school and our program as a whole along with what they've taught the younger players that will be seniors next year," finished Engelhardt.