GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College baseball team rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to beat Messiah College 13-8 in non-conference action on Wednesday at Kirchhoff field.
The Falcons (5-10) plated seven runs in their first two trips to the plate, but the Gettysburg (10-7) pitching staff settled in over the remaining seven frames, allowing just one run and two hits.
The Bullets jumped on the scoreboard with two outs in the third when junior
Joe Giovinco (Stirling, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) hit an RBI double to right-center to drive home sophomore
Matt Szczesny (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), who doubled in the previous at bat. Junior
Ryan LaCoe (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) hit another double to center to bring home Giovinco for the second run of the frame.
The last run for the Falcons came in the top of the fourth inning when Billy Davis grounded out to the second baseman, giving Trent Culver the opportunity to score.
With two outs in the fourth inning, freshman
Matthew Muir (South Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) and Szczesny hit back-to-back RBI singles to cut the deficit down to four (8-4).
Gettysburg broke it open with an eight-run sixth inning, posting three hits and taking advantage of four Messiah defensive errors. The Orange and Blue scored the first tally off an error by the Falcons pitcher. Then the turning point of the game came from sophomore
Sean Murphy (Westfield, Mass./Westfield), who smashed a triple to right center to tie the game at 8-8. A two-run single from junior
Ryan Augustus (Freehold, N.J./Princeton Day School) pushed the Bullets ahead for the first time, but the runs did not stop there as Szczesny posted a two-run single to take a commanding 12-8 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
Junior
Jack Havard (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) and freshman
Tyler Carmolingo (Mullica Hill, N.J./Saint Augustine Preparatory) shut the door on the Falcons, allowing just one hit and striking out five over the final four innings. Havard emerged as the pitcher of record and earned his first career win.
Szczesny went 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBI, and a double. Murphy added two hits, three RBI, a run scored, and a triple. Augustus produced two RBI.
Gettysburg travels to Penn State Mont Alto on Thursday for a 3:30 p.m. game.
