Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley) drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the bottom of the eighth inning as Gettysburg erased a four-run deficit and defeated Dickinson College 9-8 in a Centennial Conference baseball game Tuesday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field.

It was the second game-winning hit this season and third in the last two years for Vladyka, who finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Vladyka also had a walk-off single in a win over SUNY Oneonta this year and against York (Pa.) in 2007.

Gettysburg (10-12, 3-2 CC) smacked 15 hits, tying its second-highest total of the season. Junior Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles while junior Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata), sophomore Matt Karis (Southborough, Mass./Noble & Greenough), freshman Drew Roy (Needham, Mass./Neeham), and junior Craig Barrows (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park) had two hits apiece. Backus, Karis, and Roy all scored two runs while Roy had a pair of RBIs. Both of Barrows' hits were doubles.

For the second game in a row, junior Derek Zaleski (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) earned the win in relief, blanking Dickinson on no hits over the final two innings. He pitched out of a tight jam in the ninth, when the leadoff batter reached second on an error. Freshman Mike Odierna (Weston, Conn./Weston) also threw well out of the bullpen, holding the Red Devils to one run on three hits while striking out seven over four innings.

Dickinson (6-13, 2-3 CC) was led by freshman Jordan Kaufman, who was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a pair of runs.

The win was career victory No. 398 for Gettysburg head coach John Campo.

Trailing 8-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth, Backus ignited the rally with a bloop single down the rightfield line against reliever Zach Light (0-4), who had shut out Gettysburg from the fifth through the seventh. Karis followed up with a single to right-center, and both runners moved up a bag on an outfield error. Light was then replaced by Drew Swomley before Roy tied it up with an RBI-groundout to first, which also moved Karis to third.

Swomley induced a groundout to third that kept the go-ahead run from scoring before Vladyka stepped in and chopped the first pitch over the third baseman's head. Langhauser doubled in the next at-bat, but Vladyka was forced to stop at third and Swomley got out of it with a groundout.

In the ninth, freshman Peter Bilali reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, which also moved him to second. A sacrifice bunt advanced Bilali to third, but Zaleski (3-3) dug in to get a pair of groundouts – a comebacker to the mound and a game-ending roller to short.

The Red Devils took a 2-0 lead in the second against Gettysburg starter Will Kleva (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) before the Bullets plated one run in bottom of the inning and two in the third against starter Garrett Horan to take a 3-2 advantage. But Dickinson erupted with five runs on three hits, a walk, and an error in the fourth to assume a 7-3 lead.

Gettysburg came right back with four in the bottom of the fourth to pull even. Backus and Barrows each cracked an RBI-double in the inning.

Dickinson went back in front when it scored its final run in the sixth against Odierna, getting a one-double from sophomore Matt Catania and a two-out single from sophomore Evan Hennessy. A walk put runners first and second but Odierna escaped with a strikeout. The Devils also threatened in the eighth, when it had runners on first and third with two outs, but Odierna put out the fire with a flyout.

In the meantime, the Bullets had scoring opportunities in the sixth and seventh but were unable to cash in. Light stranded runners on second and third in the sixth and left a runner on third in the seventh.

Gettysburg and Dickinson conclude their season series on Friday, when they play another nine-inning game in Carlisle at 3:30 p.m.