GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg pounded out a season-high 21 hits, but a late-game rally fell just short as the Bullets dropped a 17-14 decision to Johns Hopkins in a wild Centennial Conference (CC) baseball game at a sunny, blustery Kirchhoff Field.
 
Sophomore Ryan LaCoe (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) led the offensive outburst for the Orange and Blue, going 5-for-6 and tying the school record for hits in a game. LaCoe, who drilled five singles, joined a long list of Bullets to post five hits. Henry Klimowicz '16 last achieved the feat in a 17-6 victory at McDaniel on April 27, 2016.
 
Gettysburg (7-16, 1-6 CC) trailed 15-3 at the seventh-inning stretch, only to rally with 11 runs over the last three innings. The Bullets scored six times in the bottom of the ninth, when they sent 10 batters to the plate.
 
Every Bullet starter batted safely, including sophomore Joe Giovinco (Stirling, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), who finished 3-for-5. Sophomore Dominick Gasparro (Clarksburg, N.J./Princeton Day School), freshman Sean Murphy (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), and senior Josh Cubell (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township), stroked two hits apiece, as did senior Jack Seibert (Yardley, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep), who came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a triple.
 
The Blue Jays (17-9, 6-1 CC) also laced 21 hits, with No. 3 hitter Mike Smith leading the way. Smith reached base seven times while going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and three walks.
 
Gettysburg took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI-double from Murphy versus starter Sean McCracken. Hopkins scored four in the second against Gettysburg starter Brad DeMartino (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), but the Bullets answered with two in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to 4-3.
 
The visitors came back with 11 unanswered runs versus five different pitchers, starting with a seven-spot in the third when they sent 12 batters to the plate. The Blue Jays tacked on single runs in the fourth and sixth before scoring two more in the seventh to assume their 12-run lead.
 
Gettysburg began their comeback with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Gasparro drilled an RBI-double in the inning while LaCoe also knocked in a run with a single.
 
The Bullets added an RBI-single in the eighth on a run-scoring single from Cubell, making it 15-8. Hopkins responded with a pair of insurance runs in the ninth before Gettysburg erupted with six in the bottom of the frame. Seibert, freshman Patrick McDermott (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Radnor), and LaCoe each drove in a run with a single, and the Bullets had the tying run on deck after LaCoe's final hit brought home pinch-hitter Matt Berube (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner). But reliever Jake Griffin recorded the final out when he induced a groundout to himself.
 
DeMartino (1-4) pitched 2 2/3 innings and took the loss for the Bullets while McCracken (5-1) worked 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
 
The two sides complete their season series on Friday at 6 p.m. at Johns Hopkins.