Seven run third inning pushes Bullets over Red Devils
By Sean Brower, Staff Writer
Senior Andrew Hourigan helped the Bullets earn seven runs in the third inning with his three-run triple.
The Gettysburg baseball team pushed seven runs across the board in a huge bottom of the third inning, leading to a 9-5 victory and season sweep of the Dickinson College Red Devils on April 15.
In all, the Bullets sent eleven men to the plate. The floodgates opened, when junior third baseman Logan Sneed reached on an error by his Dickinson counterpart, senior Brian McCloud. Consecutive singles by junior catcher Will Anderson, senior first baseman Henry Klimowicz, and senior second baseman Steve Wright put the Bullets ahead 4-2.
The bases were then loaded, when senior Matt Cowell hit junior left fielder Conner Tom, sending senior designated hitter Andrew Hourigan to the plate.
“I was down 0-2 at the time. My philosophy, when I’m down 0-2, is to really swing at anything close. So they threw me a curveball that was pretty low, but I was able to stay back and really drive it the other way. So I drove it into the gap,” said Hourigan.
The result was his first career triple. Klimowicz, Wright, and Tom scored, pushing the Bullets lead to 7-2. Senior right fielder Shawn Moffitt then doubled to drive in Hourigan. Moffitt himself score two batters later, on a ground rule double by senior center fielder Luke Lawrence.
Klimowicz, Lawrence, and Wright all had productive days, poking two hits each.
“I was just looking for pitches to hit and he gave me a couple in my drive zone. So, [I was] feeling good up there, got pitches to hit, put good swings on them, and it worked out,” said Wright, who recorded an RBI, two runs, and joined Hourigan with a triple.
On the defensive end, sophomore pitcher Brad DeMartino picked up the win, allowing three runs, and striking out five in 5 2/3 innings of work. In the top of the third, DeMartino picked off Dickinson first year designated hitter Alex Jacobson at first to end the inning.
Wright, however, made the game’s most notable defensive play. In the top of the seventh, with no outs, and sophomore left fielder Jonathan Chudacoff on first, senior first baseman Matt Primavera popped up. Wright had to back peddle into right field, but dived to make the catch.
“It’s always tough going back on popups like that. We practice all the time. So, [I] just track the ball, try to run to the spot, do as much as I can to help the team. I ended up catching those couple [of] balls (referring to an over-the-shoulder grab in the fifth),” said Wright.
The early offense and great defensive work proved critical as the game reached the last
two innings. In the top of the eighth, junior pitcher Aaron Bezio allowed a single to sophomore center fielder Austin Sumners followed by walks to McCloud and sophomore second baseman Robbie Thompson to load the bases with nobody out. But first year Jonny Bray relieved Bezio and induced three straight popups to end Dickinson’s biggest threat of the game.
“I just tried to hit the spots that [Will] was calling. You know, I didn’t try to do too much, just try to get groundballs and popups. I just, you know, didn’t try to overthrow. Just throw strikes,” said Bray.
A notable moment occurred in the top of the ninth, with senior pinch hitter Evan Solomon on first, having led off with a single. Classmate and catcher Rick Hopkins, who believed he had hit a game tying home run in the bottom of the ninth against Dickinson on April 12, hit one over the left field fence to put the Red Devils within four. However, junior Eric Brown relieved Bray and retired junior pinch hitter Jake Band and Thompson to end the game.
“We had a good team victory. Any time we can pick up a big [Centennial] Conference win over a Conference opponent, it’s always a plus,” said Hourigan.
