Gettysburg, Pa. – The Gettysburg College baseball team knocked out 10 hits on Friday afternoon on their way to a 13-8 victory over Penn State Berks in their 2018 home opener.
The Bullets (6-10) got on the board quick in the first inning when freshman
Sean Murphy (Westfield, Mass./ Westfield) smacked a single up the middle to score two runs. The Lions (5-7) responded right back in the top of the second with a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2.
In the bottom of the second, senior
Chuck Probst (North Bend, Pa. /Bucktail) regained the lead for the Bullets when he ripped an RBI double to left center to plate classmate
Logan Sneed (Newtown, Pa. /Germantown) to go up 3-2.
Probst went 2-for-5 of the day with an RBI, a double and run scored while Sneed went 1-for-2, drawing three walks and three runs scored.
The Orange and Blue extended their lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the third inning when Sneed drew a bases loaded walk to bring in a run before sophomore
Joe Giovinco (Stirling, N.J. /Seton Hall Prep) hit an infield single to plate another.
Freshman
Matt Szczesny (Schwenksville, Pa. /Periomen) hit a double to right field in the fifth inning to give the Bullets an 8-3 lead.
At this point in the game it seemed like the Bullets were in control but the Lions would not go away as they scored runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to come back and tie the game at 8-8 heading into the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Gettysburg took advantage of several Penn State miscues and Szczensy broke the game open with a 2 RBI single as the Bullets scored five runs to take a 13-8 lead.
Szczesny finished the game going 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs, a double and a stolen base.
Sophomore
Danny Brace (Berwyn, Pa. /Devon Prep) started on the mound for Gettysburg giving up three unearned runs over four innings while striking out two.
Freshman
Ryan Sparks (Hamilton, N.J. /Princeton Day) closed the game for the Bullets as he induced a double play ball and fanned the final batter of the game.
Gettysburg will play again tomorrow in their Centennial Conference opener at Kirchhoff Field when they take on Muhlenberg College at 12:30 p.m. for a doubleheader.
