Henry Klimowicz, Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Scott Zanghellini (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th and the Gettysburg College baseball team earned its second walk-off victory in eight days, defeating Johns Hopkins University 4-3 in a Centennial Conference make-up game Sunday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.
With two outs, Zanghellini blooped a 1-1 changeup into shallow centerfield to allow sophomore Will Anderson (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) to score from second standing up as the Bullets (20-10, 9-5) moved into a tie with Washington College for third in the Centennial Conference standings. With four conference games remaining, Gettysburg sits just one game behind Franklin & Marshall College for first place.
Gettysburg also registered a 5-4 walk-off victory over Washington in the nightcap of a doubleheader on April 11.
Zanghellini finished 2-for-5 at the plate while junior Henry Klimowicz (Allenhurst, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) walloped his first career home run – a towering blast in the sixth that gave the Bullets a 3-2 lead. Sophomore Connor Tom (Reinholds, Pa./Conrad Weiser) – who has now batted safely in 14 straight games – added a pair of hits for the Bullets, who split their season series with the Blue Jays after Hopkins earned a 3-2 walk-off win this past Wednesday.
Sophomore Rich Power (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) was called out of the bullpen with no outs in the second inning and went on throw eight strong innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Junior Luke Lawrence (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) came on to throw a scoreless 10th to earn the win.
Connor Reynolds and Craig Hoelzer finished with two hits apiece for the Blue Jays (18-9-1, 9-4-1 CC), who are now in second place in the conference standings.
It was the 100th meeting between the two schools in baseball, with Gettysburg now holding a slight 51-49 advantage.
Hopkins pushed across one run in the first against freshman starter Brad DeMartino (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), and another versus Power in the fourth to assume a 2-0 lead. The Bullets picked up their first hit against starter Trevor Williams when junior Steve Wright (Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) singled leading off the fourth and went on to score when Klimowicz beat out what was nearly an inning-ending double play.
Gettysburg added single runs in the fifth and sixth to take a 3-2 lead. In the fifth, sophomore John Convery (Media, Pa./Penncrest) legged out a hustling double into right-center and scored two batters later when Wright reached on an error. Klimowicz then put the Bullets in front with his mammoth shot, leading off the sixth with a drive that sailed well over the leftfield foul pole.
In the meantime, Power was cruising, allowing just two baserunners and no hits from the fifth through the eighth, retiring 10 in a row at one point. But the Blue Jays found some life in the ninth, when Thomas Mee reached on a one-out error. After Power got the second out, Hoelzer tripled home Mee to even the score at 3-3. But Power got out of it when he induced a comebacker to himself for the final out of the inning, and Lawrence (2-2) worked a three-up, three-down 10th.
In the bottom of the inning, reliever Ross Lazicky (2-1) – who had allowed just two baserunners over his first 3 2/3 innings – hit Anderson with a pitch and was relieved by Thomas Harper, who would pick up the first two outs. But senior Cory Karagjozi (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) drew a seven-pitch walk, setting up Zanghellini's heroics.