Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) ripped a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth and the Gettysburg College baseball team played through a steady rain to defeat York (Pa.) College 8-7 in the Bullets' home opener at Kirchhoff Field Tuesday afternoon.
Vladyka's big hit came after York (4-10) had rallied with three runs in the top of the inning to make it 7-7.
The win was Gettysburg's first against York since 2004, as the Bullets snapped a three-game losing streak to the Spartans.
Sophomore Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) led Gettysburg (7-8) with another outstanding performance. Entering the game with a team-leading .451 batting average, Backus went 3-for-4 with two runs, four RBIs, a double, and a home run. Junior Andrew Burton (McLean, Va./McLean) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles while Vladyka finished 2-for-5. Freshman Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) scored a pair of runs, including the game-winner.
Sophomore Packer Larson (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) recorded the last three outs for Gettysburg and was credited with the win while reliever Taylor Gunder (0-1) absorbed the loss for the Spartans.
Simard led off the bottom of the ninth with a single through the left side. With Backus at the plate, a wild pitch opened up first base, and the Spartans elected to intentionally walk him. Senior Matt Stillitano (Ewing, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third and set the stage for Vladyka, who drilled a hard-hit ball up the middle.
Backus gave the Bullets a 2-1 lead in the fourth when he smashed a two-run homer to left, his third long ball of the season. York went in front 3-2 with at two-run, three-hit sixth against Bullet starter Michael Sweeney (Bethesda, Md./St. Anselm's Abbey School), but Gettysburg answered with a three-run, three-hit seventh that was aided by a pair of Spartan errors.
Burton and senior Sean McGee (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) led off against Spartan starter Jason Christenberry with back-to-back doubles before Backus singled home McGee to make it 5-3. Backus was then hit on the hand while stealing second base, and he moved up to third as the ball caromed into leftfield. He scored one batter late on a throwing error by the third baseman.
York pulled to within 6-4 when Dennis Maxim launched an opposite-field homer over the leftfield fence leading off the eighth against reliever John Antrim-Cashin (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y./Fordham Prep). After a walk, freshman Matt Karis (Southborough, Mass./Noble & Greenough School) came on to work a three-up, three-down inning.
The Bullets came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. Karis greeted Gunder with a leadoff double before scoring on Burton's second two-bagger of the game, this one with two outs.
With the top of the order due up in the York ninth, Ryan Craig and Ryan Poff got on with back-to-back singles before Mike Connolly and Matt Austin were each hit with a pitch, making it 7-5. Larson (2-0) was then summoned out of the pen, and he induced a flyout before Mike Santoro drew a walk to pull the Spartans to within one. Anthony Anzalone followed up with a groundball to first, and Stillitano fired to second to get a force-out while pinch-runner Joe Doyle crossed the plate with the tying run. After another walk loaded the bases again, Larson got out of it with a flyout to right.
Sweeney threw three innings for Gettysburg, yielding three runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out three. Christenberry went eight innings for the Spartans and surrendered five runs on eight hits and one walk while fanning six. Gunder was touched for two runs on four hits and on one walk over 1 1/3 innings.
Maxim led the Spartans at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Santoro went 2-for-3 with three RBIs while Craig finished 2-for-5.
The Bullets are scheduled to host another non-conference game on Wednesday, when they host Susquehanna University at 3:30 p.m.
