In the fourth inning, Holbert’s RBI single to center allowed Shirk to score. Holbert hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to make the lead 8-3. The senior center fielder was 3-for-5 with three runs batted in.
The Blue Jays headed to Catholic University on Saturday, March 21 to open up a three-game series with the Cardinals. The three conference games were the first for the baseball team since joining the Landmark Conference. All three games were played at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy.
Etown’s offense continued its hot streak, as the Blue Jays hit a pair of home runs to propel them to an 11-4 win over Catholic. The Blue Jays sent 14 batters to the plate in the third inning and did not allow the Cardinals to have a chance to get back into the game. The first hits of the inning for the Jays went for extra bases with Holbert hitting a triple and scoring on an error, and Weary hitting a double. Sophomore Frank Ragozzino, Fackler, Holbert and Gatti all added RBI singles in the inning and Shirk had an RBI ground out.
Gatti went 3-for-4 with a career high four RBIs, which helped raise his average to .447 and moved his hit streak this season to 12 games. Etown ended their scoring in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Gatti.
Starting pitcher, senior Kris Davis, improved to 3-0 on the season, striking out seven batters over six innings and allowed only four runs. Davis owns a 28:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 21 innings. Senior Taras Letnaunchyn and first-year Anthony Lippy joined together for 2.2 innings of keeping Catholic scoreless.
Weary registered three hits and scored two runs on the offensive end of things for the Blue Jays. Holbert, Ragozzino and Shirk finished the game with two hits each.
Etown and Catholic concluded their series on Sunday with a double header. In game one of the doubleheader, sophomore Kevin Elwell had a great day on the mound, tossing a complete game, two-hit, shutout. It was Elwell’s second shutout of his career.
Junior Dylan Manning led the third inning with a walk and moved to second on a Ragozzino sacrifice bunt. Later in the inning, Fackler singled to score Manning, the only hit and run of the game for the Blue Jays. Etown’s 1-0 win in the second game locked up a series victory over Catholic.
“Whether we are winning big or are in a close game, we try to have the same mentality, which is to treat each inning as if it is a 0-0 game and try to win every inning,” Holbert said.
Gatti was held hitless for the first time this season, breaking his 13 game hitting streak that dated back to the last game of the 2014 season.
Catholic came into the weekend without a loss on their record, but the Blue Jays came ready to play and took the first two games of the series.
In the final game of the series, the Blue Jays jumped on top of the Cardinals early, holding a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the fifth inning. In that fifth inning, the Cardinals fought back, scoring three runs to take a 3-2 lead over the Blue Jays. Catholic would hang on to that one-run lead for the 3-2 victory.
“In the last two games of our series, we struggled to provide run support,” senior Frank Canuso said. “This puts a lot of pressure on our pitching staff to make perfect pitches instead of allowing the defense to make outs for them. Run support allows pitchers to relax and pitch the way they feel most comfortable.” Canuso finished the day 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Junior Zack Tomasko gave up three runs on four hits over four innings, but took the loss for the first time this season.
Gatti was 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored for the Blue Jays. Designated hitter, sophomore Colby Smith, finished the game 1-for-3.
Holbert said, “We still have some areas to improve on, but this was overall a very successful start to our conference play.”
Canuso said, “Our goal is to make it to the playoffs every year which gives us a shot at winning a conference championship. We have started off strong this year, but we have a long time before the playoffs. I think we have a chance to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs.”
Since returning from Florida, the Blue Jays are 4-2, improving their record to 11-4 overall. “We started our season off 7-2 in Florida, which was a great start,” Holbert said. “It really showed us that we have to potential to do very well this year. We had guys contribute up and down our roster, which showed our team how each person plays a pivotal role in our success.”
Etown will travel to Franklin & Marshall College Thursday, March 26 to face the Diplomats in a non-conference game.
