Game 1 Box Score  Game 2 Box Score

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Sophomore Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, and the Gettysburg College baseball team won the nightcap 6-5 to come away with a doubleheader split at Muhlenberg College in Centennial Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon.

Muhlenberg claimed the opener 6-5, taking advantage of five Gettysburg errors and scoring the game-winning run on a Bullet miscue in the bottom of the seventh. The Mules also rallied in the second game, forcing extra innings with a run in the bottom of the ninth, but junior Derek Zaleski (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout before firing a three-up, three-down 10th.

Gettysburg (9-12, 2-2 CC) received big days at the plate from freshman Drew Roy (Needham, Mass./Needham), who was 4-for-9 with three runs, and sophomore Cam Riera (Medway, Mass./Medway), who went 4-for-8. Zaleski earned the win in Game Two, holding the Mules to one run on two hits while striking out four over three innings.

The opener was a nip-and-tuck affair that featured four lead changes. The Bullets went up 2-1 in the second before the Mules (9-12-1, 3-1 CC) went ahead with a two-run second. An RBI-single from junior Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata) put Gettysburg up 3-2 in the fifth, but Muhlenberg answered once again, plating two in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 4-3.

Gettysburg took its third lead of the game in the sixth, getting a two-run single from senior Sam Stabert (Wynnewood, Pa./Lower Merion). Junior reliever Michael Sweeney (Bethesda, Md./St. Anselm's Abbey School)) escaped a jam in the bottom of the inning, leaving runners on second and third, and was one out away from a win in the seventh. But with two outs and a man on first, Sweeney walked a batter, putting runners on first and second. Bobby Spindler followed up with a game-tying single, and Sweeney was replaced by freshman Mike Odierna (Weston, Conn./Weston), who also issued a walk to load the bases. Eli Branzburg then ended the game on an error by the third baseman.

Roy finished 3-for-4 with two runs in the opener while Stabert, Riera, and Simard all had two hits. Stabert knocked in three runs while junior Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) scored twice.

Senior Chris Liegel (Oak Ridge, N.J./Pope John XXIII) started on the mound for the Bullets and received a no-decision after 1 1/3 innings pitched, yielding three runs on four hits. Sweeney (1-2) worked 5 1/3 innings and was charged with the loss. Only one of his three runs were earned, and he struck out three.

Matthew Ordog (2-3) threw the final 1 2/3 innings for Muhlenberg and earned the win despite surrendering the go-ahead run in the sixth. Phil Cresta started and worked 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits.

Gettysburg led the entire way in the nightcap before Muhlenberg put up its ninth-inning rally. The Bullets chased starting pitcher Kevin Witmier from the game in the second inning, when it put up three runs on five hits. Sophomore Cory Jackmuff (Woodbury, N.J./West Deptford) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Stabert and Roy each ripped an RBI-single.

The Mules plated single runs in the third and fourth against Bullet starter Kyle Conklin (Wantage, N.J./High Point), but Gettysburg pushed its lead back to three with a two-run, four-hit fifth. Senior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley) and Simard each had run-scoring singles as the Bullets went up 5-2.

Muhlenberg scratched out a run in the sixth before the Bullets fielding woes reappeared, leading to an unearned run in the seventh that made it 5-4. The Mules were down to their last out once again in the ninth after Zaleski retired the first two batters, but Dan Fisher singled, stole second, and scored on an Eric Pomroy single. The inning continued when John Kallis reached on an error, putting runners on the corners. Edward Risener was intentionally walked to load the bases, but that's when Zaleski came through with his big punch-out.

Langhauser ignited Gettysburg's 10th-inning rally, leading off with his second triple in as many days, before scoring on Simard's sac fly.

Zaleski (2-3) finished off the Mules in the ninth and struck out the first and third batters.

Gettysburg racked up 13 hits in the nightcap, with Riera, Backus, Vladyka, and Langhauser smacking two apiece. Vladyka and Langhauser scored two runs each while Simard had two RBIs.

Conklin received a no-decision despite holding Muhlenberg to four runs (two earned) on eight hits over seven innings. He walked one and fanned five.

Reliever Joseph Barrese (0-2) suffered the loss for the Mules, throwing two innings and yielding the go-ahead run in the 10th.

Gettysburg returns to Centennial Conference action on Tuesday, when it hosts Dickinson College in a nine-inning game starting at 3:30 p.m.