YORK, PA-The York College baseball team
avoided their longest losing streak of the season with a 4-3
non-conference victory over Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday afternoon in
York. The Spartans snapped their two game losing streak as they
improve to 25-8 overall. The Scarlet Raiders fall to 11-23 with the
loss.
The Spartans got on the board first as Ryan Poff
(York, PA/Spring Grove) doubled and scored on a David Moller
(Schnecksville, PA/Parkland) singled to right in the bottom of the
second. The Spartans added to the lead in the bottom of the third
as senior Jeff Young (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) walked with one
out and scored on a booming Ryan Craig (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky
Point) triple to right center. After a pop out and a hit batter,
senior Bryan Bednarczyk (Columbia, MD/River Hill) doubled to right,
plating Craig and putting Spartans at second and third. Poff walked
to load the bases but Raider pitcher Jack Winters got a strikeout,
preventing any further damage.
The Rutgers-Newark bullpen held the Spartans in
check over the next three innings before the Spartans got a huge
insurance run in the seventh. Freshman Anthony Anzalone (Rocky
Point, NY/Rocky Point) singled down the left field line but was
erased on a Young fielder’s choice. Young went to second on a
wild pitch and scored when Mike Santoro (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan)
stroked a double to right center. Santoro and Craig, who had walked
earlier in the inning, were left stranded at second and third as
the next two Spartans were retired on ground outs.
The Scarlet Raiders finally reached Spartan
starter Jason Christenberry (Yoe, PA/Dallastown), who was nearly
unhittable in the first seven innings, in the top of the eighth The
frame began with Anthony Yeswita reaching on an error. John Farmer
then doubled down the left field line to score Yeswita with the
Raiders’ first run. Joe Furnaguera pinch hit and singled to
left to move Farmer to third. Anthony Kaplon pinch ran and stole
second to put runners at second and third with no outs.
Christenberry got a strikeout but Brian Gill got an infield single
to score Farmer, cutting the Spartan lead to 4-2. Bill Mercurio
then reached on another Spartan error, allowing Kaplon to score as
the Spartan lead dwindled to 4-3. The Spartans’ Bednarczyk
then made the play of the game as he stabbed a shot down the third
base line by Dan Zika. Bednarczyk stepped on third to force out the
runner and then made an accurate, off-balance throw, nailing Zika
to complete the double play, ending the Raider threat.
The Spartans went quietly in the eighth, setting
the stage for an exciting top of the ninth. Spartan sophomore Jake
Hughes (Schwenksville, PA/Souderton) relieved Christenberry and got
two quick outs before running into a bit of trouble. Hughes walked
Yeswita to put the tying run on. After a number of tosses to first
sprinkled in with a few pitches to Farmer, Hughes faced a 2-1
count. He buckled down and threw a strike to even the count at 2-2.
He then got Farmer to chase a high fastball for a strikeout, ending
the game.
Christenberry was outstanding as he improves to
5-0. He tossed eight innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on
five hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Hughes
recorded his fourth save of the year as he allowed a walk in his
one inning of work.
Winters suffered the loss as he allowed three
runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks in three
innings of work. He falls to 0-7. Reliever Thanos Iglesias allowed
one hit in his three inning stint. Iglesias walked one and struck
out another. Matt Kimball surrendered one run on two hits with a
strikeout and a walk in two innings of action.
The Spartan offense received two hits from
Santoro as he celebrated moving into the three spot in the lineup
with a single, a double and an RBI. Young was 1-for-3 with two runs
scored while Craig was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Bednarczyk and Moller had the Spartans’ other RBI.
Gill collected two of the Raiders’ five
hits. Farmer was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while
Furnaguera was 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter.
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday
afternoon when the green and white travels across the Susquehanna
River to face the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. First pitch in
Lancaster is set for 4:00 pm.