Game One Box Score  Game Two Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Ursinus College pounded out 35 hits and the Bears clinched the top seed in next weekend's Centennial Conference Championship Tournament with a sweep over Gettysburg Saturday afternoon at Kirchhoff Field in the CC regular season finale for both teams.

Ursinus (23-9-2, 14-4 CC) won the opener 10-5 in nine innings before blanking the Bullets 10-0 in the nightcap.

Gettysburg (14-21, 7-11 CC) was led by junior Craig Barrows (Whippany, N.J./Whippany Park), who was 4-for-9 over the two games. Junior Kevin Langhauser (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) singled in the first game but went 0-for-4 in the second, ending his hitting streak at 17.

Before the game, Gettysburg's four seniors were honored in a brief ceremony.

The first game was close most of the way, with neither team leading by more than a run before the ninth. The Bullets led only once, when it took a 2-1 lead in the third on a solo home run by junior Mike Backus (Piscataway, N.J./Immaculata), and trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh after the Bears had broken a 3-3 tie in the top of the inning. But Barrows ripped a one-out single and scored three batters later on a bases-loaded fielder's choice.

Each team scored a run in the eighth with two doubles apiece. Tommy Clarke and J.C. Colon doubled for Ursinus to make it 5-4 before the Bullets rallied again in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Chris Simard (Lexington, Mass./Belmont Hill) smacked a one-out double and scored when classmate Cam Riera (Medway, Mass./Medway) drilled a two-bagger of his own with two outs.

The Bears broke it open in the ninth, getting a one-out, three-run homer from Rob Vogt before adding an insurance run on an RBI-single from Colon. Reliever Ryan Schmidt retired the side in the bottom of the inning.

Barrows was 2-for-5 with two runs in the opener while Backus and Simard added two hits apiece. Colon went 4-for-5 with three runs.

Sophomore Matt Karis (Southborough, Mass./Noble & Greenough School) worked into the ninth for Gettysburg but left the game after Vogt's homer. In 8 1/3 innings, Karis (4-3), who threw 143 pitches, yielded eight runs (six earned) on 12 hits and three walks. He finished with a career-high six strikeouts. Freshman Mike Odierna (Weston, Conn./Weston) came on in relief and was charged with two runs on three hits and walk while recording one out before junior Michael Sweeney (Bethesda, Md./St. Anselm's Abbey School) retired the only batter he faced to end the inning.

Zeb Engle (8-0) pitched eight innings to stay perfect on the season and pick up his conference-leading eighth win of the year. He gave up 10 hits and three walks while fanning nine.

The Bullets trailed just 3-0 heading into the seventh inning of the nightcap, with senior starter Will Kleva (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) keeping the Bears at bay. But Ursinus eventually broke through and scored seven runs on half of their 20 hits over the final three innings. Ursinus did the bulk of its damage with a five-run, seven-hit seventh, scoring all of its runs on six straight hits with two outs.

Kleva (1-5) surrendered eight runs and finished with three strikeouts. Sweeney came on to throw the final 2 1/3 and gave up two runs while striking out one.

Luis Serrano (6-1) tossed an eight-hit shutout for Ursinus, striking out five and walking three while throwing 140 pitches.

Riera and Barrows each went 2-for-4 in Game Two.

Gettysburg concludes the season with three, nine-inning non-conference games from Monday through Wednesday. The Bullets go on the road for the final time on Monday, when they visit Lebanon Valley College at 3:30 p.m.