GETTYSBURG, Pa. – After a 14-inning marathon in the opening game, Gettysburg College still had enough left in the tank to pull out a 7-6 decision in the nightcap and earn a split in a Centennial Conference doubleheader against Muhlenberg College Saturday at Kirchhoff Field.
 
Muhlenberg (19-17, 9-8 CC) rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the opening game and brought across the winning run in the 14th for a 9-8 victory over Gettysburg (16-19, 5-12 CC).
 
The Bullets took the lead in game one with freshman Andrew Decker (Baltimore, Md./Towson) leading off with a single and scoring on a single to right field by classmate Mark Seibert (Yardley, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep). The Mules came right back with three runs in the second inning and one more in the third to jump in front 4-1.
 
Gettysburg took control in the fourth inning with a pair of runs and tacked on three more in the sixth, including two on a single through the left side by sophomore Sean Murphy (Westfield, Mass./Westfield). A sacrifice fly by junior Ryan Augustus (Freehold, N.J./Princeton Day School) pushed the lead to 7-4 entering the ninth inning.
 
Senior right-hander Jonny Bray (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) was cruising after coming into the game in the third inning, racking up six strikeouts and not allowing a run through his first 5 2/3 innings of work. The Mules finally solved the puzzle in the top of the ninth, putting the first three runners aboard with a walk and back-to-back hits, including a two-run double by Matt Riebesell. A double by Jon Capra brought home Riebesell to tie the game.
 
Senior Will Wortmann (Bedford, N.Y./Fox Lane) relieved Bray and fanned two of the first three batters he faced and stranded runners at first and third to end the ninth inning.
 
The bats went quiet over the next three innings with Wortmann stranding five runners. He was helped out of a jam in the 12th as junior Ryan LaCoe (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) snagged a liner to third base and doubled off the runner at second to end the inning.
 
The Mules finally cracked the scoring column in the 13th with Rob Cappadona bringing home Capra with a single through the right side. Junior Joe Giovinco (Stirling, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) led off the bottom of the frame with a double to right-center and advanced to third on a sacrifice. Freshman Shane Manieri (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle) was caught swinging on strike three in the dirt, but avoided the tag from the catcher, forcing a throw to first base. Giovinco broke for home and the gamble paid off as he slid across the plate with the tying run.
 
Despite two quick outs in the 14th, the Mules made the most of back-to-back walks with Capra driving in Riebesell with a single up the middle for the go-ahead run. Gettysburg managed to load the bases in the bottom of the inning, but Will Nomura closed the door by getting Giovinco to fly out to left field.
 
The 14-inning affair was the longest since the squad went 14 frames in a loss to Swarthmore College on April 4, 2015. It was four innings shy of the program record of 18 innings turned in by the Bullets in a victory over Moravian College on April 5, 1978. Saturday's opening game took four hours, 38 minutes to complete.
 
Augustus went 4-for-6 with a walk and RBI. Seibert and Giovinco each posted three hits with the former scoring a pair of runs. Bray finished with three runs allowed on six hits and struck out six, while Wortmann gave up two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings.
 
Capra went 5-for-8 with three RBI and Riebesell finished 4-for-6 with three runs and two RBI. Nomura picked up the win after allowing just one run on three hits over the final six innings.
 
Game two featured another back-and-forth battle. The Bullets jumped in front with RBI singles by freshman Matthew Muir (South Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) and Decker in the second inning. Two frames later, Muhlenberg sent 10 batters to the plate and came away with five runs on four hits to take a 5-2 lead.
 
After picking up a run in the fourth, Gettysburg took advantage of poor fielding decisions to retake the lead in the fifth. An error started the inning and Augustus drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to one. Giovinco hit a liner to the shortstop who caught the ball and tried to double off the runner leaning away from second base. Instead, the throw went wide and allowed Murphy to run home with the tying run. A sacrifice fly by sophomore Eric Raio (West Caldwell, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) put the Bullets back in front 6-5.
 
Decker gave the team an insurance run by bringing home Raio with a single through the left side in the eighth inning. The run proved to be the difference as Muhlenberg tried to start another ninth-inning rally. Riebesell scored a run with a fielder's choice, but senior Sam Dobbins (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) shut the door on the victory with a pop-up to the infield.
 
Freshman Timothy Fay (Easthampton, Mass./Williston Northampton) earned his first collegiate victory after allowing just one unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts over five innings. Dobbins picked up his second save of the year with a scoreless inning of relief. Decker went 4-for-5 with two RBI out of the leadoff spot, while Raio went 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI. Murphy extended his on-base streak to 40 games with a single in the fifth inning.
 
Gettysburg visits McDaniel College for a single nine-inning affair Sunday at 2 p.m.