Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Matt Karis (Southborough, Mass./Noble & Greenough) threw a 12-hit complete game and helped himself at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs including the go-ahead single in the bottom of the seventh as Gettysburg knocked off Johns Hopkins University 9-7 in a back-and-forth Centennial Conference baseball tilt Friday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.

With the win, Gettysburg (8-11, 1-1 CC) defeated Johns Hopkins (8-8, 1-1 CC), the defending conference champion and national runner-up, for the first time since 2006, ending a six-game skid against the Blue Jays.

The two teams split their season series after Johns Hopkins' win in Baltimore on Tuesday.

Sophomore Cam Riera (Medway, Mass./Medway) enjoyed a 2-for-3 day at the plate for the Bullets while freshman Drew Roy (Needham, Mass./Needham) and junior Craig Barrows (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park) each finished 2-for-4. Junior Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) contributed a two-run double.

Junior Dave Kahn led Johns Hopkins at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and a three-run homer. Senior Todd Emr went 3-for-4 while classmate Dave Merzel added a pair of hits.

With the game tied 7-7 at the seventh-inning stretch, senior Sam Stabert (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion) was hit leading off by reliever Garrett Gomez, who was then replaced by Greg Harbeck with the count at 2-1 against Riera, who drew a walk. Junior Matt Wiegand was then summoned out of the bullpen, and Backus advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt before Karis drilled a 1-1 pitch up the middle, scoring Stabert. Riera was thrown out the plate by the centerfielder, but it held up as the game-winning hit.

Gettysburg padded its lead in the eighth, when Barrows singled and scored when junior Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) clouted a triple over the centerfielder.

The Blue Jays swung the bat well in the early going, scoring three times on five hits over the first two innings, building a 3-0 lead. But the Bullets struck back in the bottom of the second, as the first four batters reached base en route to a four-run inning. Karis drew a walk before senior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley) singled, and Roy followed up with a RBI-single down the rightfield line. An outfield error allowed Vladyka to move to third, and he scored on a wild pitch, which moved Roy to second.

Barrows then drove in Roy with a single, and two batters later sophomore Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) drove in Langhauser with a sacrifice fly to center. Langhauser reached base on a fielder's choice, moved to second on an error, and stole third.

The Bullets tacked on three more runs in the fifth to assume a 7-3 advantage. Simard worked a leadoff walk before moving to second on a Stabert sacrifice bunt. Riera also drew a base on balls, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch before Backus smashed a double into the left-center gap, scoring both runners. Karis capped the big inning with a RBI-double of his own.

Johns Hopkins rallied with a four-run, four-hit sixth to pull even. Junior Lee Bolyard plated a run with a sacrifice fly before Kahn's three-run blast to left two batters later tied it up. It was the first collegiate homer allowed by Karis, who had gone 72 innings without yielding a long ball.

The Blue Jays had the go-ahead run in scoring position when Merzel singled and stole second, but that's when Karis escaped with his lone strikeout of the game.

Karis (3-1) cruised the rest of the way, facing the minimum nine batters and retiring eight of them. Bolyard led off the eighth with a single but was erased by a 4-6-3 double play, with Vladyka making a nice scoop at first. It was one of three twin killings on the day for Gettysburg, which also received an outstanding play from Simard in the fourth, as he made a diving catch running into the outfield from his second base position before picking off a runner at second.

Karis worked a three-up, three-down ninth, getting a pair of pop-ups sandwiched around a flyout. He threw 140 pitches for the day, and 95 were strikes. He issued just one walk, and six of his seven runs were earned.

Gomez (0-1) absorbed the loss for Johns Hopkins. Simmons was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and three walks.

Gettysburg resumes its Centennial Conference schedule on Saturday, when it visits Muhlenberg College for a doubleheader starting at noon.

Photos Available (David Sinclair)