Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Junior Michael Sweeney (Bethesda, Md./St. Anselm's Abbey) allowed just one run over six innings while senior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley) recorded his 100th career hit as the Gettysburg College baseball team defeated Penn State Harrisburg 9-1 in its home opener Tuesday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.

Gettysburg (6-7), which won for the fifth time in its last six games, cracked 15 hits, the team's second-highest total of the season.

All but one starter collected at least one hit for Gettysburg and Vladyka was one of six Bullets who finished with two. Sophomore Cam Riera (Medway, Mass./Medway), freshman Drew Roy (Needham, Mass./Needham), sophomore Matt Karis (Southborough, Mass./Noble & Greenough), junior Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), and sophomore Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) all finished with two safeties apiece.

Sweeney (1-1) worked into the seventh inning but was removed after walking the leadoff batter, sending his pitch count to 106. He struck out four and walked three. Sophomore Kyle Conklin (Wantage, N.J./High Point) blanked the Nittany Lions on one hit over the final three innings to record his first collegiate save.

Brett Umberger and Nick Knull led PSU-Harrisburg (1-5) with two hits apiece.

Vladyka reached his milestone by singling in his first two at-bats, blooming up a single to center in his second trip to the plate.

The Bullets took a 3-0 lead after a three-run, four-hit second. Vladyka and junior Craig Barrows (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park) led off with back-to-back singles before Langhauser beat out a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases. Simard followed up with a RBI infield single before junior Cory Beddick (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield) chased home a run with a sacrifice fly. Another run scored on a groundout by senior Sam Stabert (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion).

Roy led off the third with a double and scored two batters later on Vladyka's 100th hit, but the Lions cut it to 4-1 on a two-out, RBI-triple by Nick Knull in the top of the fourth.

Gettysburg struck back with two runs on four singles in the bottom of the inning. Simard and Stabert each scored a run while Stabert and Karis had RBIs.

PSU-Harrisburg starter Dan Vignola (0-2) settled in from there, however, retiring eight straight batters from the fourth through the seventh. He left the game with one out in the seventh after Karis just missed a home run, smashing a double a foot below the top of the fence in left-center. The Bullets tacked on three runs in the eighth against reliever Logan Zugay on three hits, three errors, and a walk. Simard walked and scored on an error before junior Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) drilled a RBI-triple to right-center. Riera capped the inning with run-scoring single.

Conklin allowed only two baserunners and retired his last five batters.

Gettysburg continues its five-day, five-game stretch on Wednesday, when it visits York (Pa.) College in another non-conference outing.