YORK, PA-The York College baseball team
opened the 2007 Capital Athletic Conference baseball tournament
with a 16-3 victory over Gallaudet University on Wednesday
afternoon in York. The Spartans, who are the tournament’s top
seed, improve to 23-6 overall while the Bison, the
tournament’s sixth seed, fall to 4-18 overall.
The Bison opened the scoring with a pair of
unearned runs in the top of the first inning. The green and white
wasted little time in getting on the board in the bottom of the
first as Jeff Young (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) stroked a doubled
to left to lead off the inning. Young came around to score when
Bison shortstop Justin Wilson threw the ball away on the cut off,
allowing York to score their first run of the game. After Ryan Poff
(York, PA/Spring Grove) reached on a fielder’s choice,
freshman Mike Connolly (Selden, NY/Newfield) blasted a two-run bomb
deep over the scoreboard in right, giving the Spartans the 3-2
lead.
The green and white blew the game open in the
bottom of the second as they scored nine runs. The Spartans scored
those nine runs on just three hits as the Bison committed three
errors and Gallaudet starter Ryan Lentz walked two and hit three
others.
York pushed the lead to 12-2 with a single run
on a David Moller (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland) sacrifice fly in the
fifth.
The Bison scored another unearned run top of the
eighth but York answered that run with three of their own,
providing for the final margin of victory.
The Spartans marched eight pitchers to the mound
in predetermined order, helping to preserve the pitching staff for
the remainder of the tournament. Freshman Jason Christenberry (Yoe,
PA/Dallastown) started the game and earned the win for York. He
allowed two unearned runs in the first as he improves to 4-0. The
Spartan pitching staff combined to scatter five hits as they
allowed three unearned runs. York struck out seven, three by
Christenberry, and walked just one.
Lentz suffered the loss as he threw a staggering
150 pitches en route to the complete game. He allowed all 16 runs,
10 of which were earned, on 14 hits in his eight innings of work.
He struck out one, walked eight and hit three others.
The Spartan offense was paced by Ryan Craig
(Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) and Connolly as they each had three
hits. Connolly drove in four and scored three others while Craig
scored two runs and drove in a pair. Young was 2-for-4 with three
runs scored and an RBI. Moller was 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run
scored.
The Bison received two hits from Jeremy Dolan
while he also had an RBI and a run scored. Chester Kuschmider was
2-for-4 with an RBI while Jon Berscheit collected the Bison’s
other hit.
York, who is currently ranked 23rd in the
nation, continues the CAC tournament on Thursday as they host
Catholic University at 3:30 pm at Jaquet Field. The Cardinals lost
to #4 Salisbury 3-1 in 11 innings on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
The Bison will travel to St. Mary’s to face the fifth-seeded
Seahawks in a tournament elimination game on Thursday at 3:30 pm in
St. Mary’s City, MD. Mary Washington, the two seed, hosts
Salisbury, the fourth seed, on Thursday in the third tournament
game of the day in Fredericksburg, VA.