By Logan Sodl, Contributing Writer
In a doubleheader matchup this past Saturday, Feb. 17, the Bullets baseball team took on the Averett University Cougars.
Game 1
The first game of the doubleheader had lots of action from both sides. Gettysburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first following a leadoff double from David Preziuso ’24, who then stole third, and was knocked in by first baseman Jack Pistner ’25. Later that inning, Pistner scored on an error by the Averett second basemen, scoring the second and final run of that inning.
Starting on the mound for the Bullets was James Weedon ’25. Weedon gave up a lead-off homerun to make it 2-1 but made quick work of the next three batters with one strikeout, a ground out, and a fly out. No more scoring occurred until the bottom of the third when the Cougars tripled and then doubled to tie the game at two runs apiece.
In the top of the fourth, Brendan Laqui ’26 was able to score on an error, which put the Bullets back in front 3-2. This lead was short lived though, as the Cougars tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth.
Weedon was replaced for the bottom of the fifth inning by Connor Stewart ’25. He exited with 4.0 innings pitched, and allowed only five hits and three earned runs. Weedon sat down six Cougars and walked two. Soon after Stewart entered the game, the Averett leadoff hitter sent a double down the right field line, and following a sacrifice bunt, was put on third. He then scored on a passed ball to bring the score to 4-3 in favor of the Cougars.
This score remained until the bottom of the seventh inning. Averett extended their lead to 5-3 following a double by the shortstop, who was then moved to third on a fielder’s choice and later scored on a wild pitch.
Gettysburg had some ground to make up going into the top of the eighth, and they certainly did. Matthew Vivona ’26 started it off with a single up the middle and then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Pistner. Emmanuel Ajewole ’24 walked and was pinch-ran for by Jack Burke ’25. Vivona and Burke put on the double steal to swipe third and second respectfully. Alexey Stout ’27 then came up big with a base hit to the left side, which scored Vivona and Burke and tied the game at five.
Cole Wong ’24 replaced Stewart for the bottom of the eighth. Unfortunately for the Bullets, Averett tallied nine runs, with seven coming off Wong, and two off of his replacement, Anthony Dadio ’26. Dadio finished out the rest of the inning to bring the Bullets to the plate for the top of the ninth.
Preziuso started the rally for Gettysburg with a walk and advanced to second after a single from Vivona. Burke walked to load the bases, and with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, senior Tristan Neels ’24 managed to reach first due to an error by the third baseman, which scored Preziuso. Stout walked and scored Vivona, but the Bullets’ rally was snuffed out, and they lost by a final of 14-7.
Game 2
Gettysburg jumped out to a hot start in the second, scoring five runs. Two Bullets walked to start the inning, followed by a Pistner single to the left side of the field to load the bases. Vivona singled to center to score a run and Burke was hit by a pitch to bring home yet another. Brian Andersen ’25 singled through the left side to bring home two more runs, which rounded out the Bullets’ five-run inning.
Averett replied in the bottom of the first with a run of their own but stranded two to end the inning. Gettysburg added to their lead in the second and were up 6-1 halfway through the inning.
Averett retaliated in the home half of the second and tallied four runs off three hits and one Gettysburg error. The third inning was quiet for both Gettysburg and Averett, as neither side was able to put a baserunner on.
In the top of the fourth, Vivona singled to third base and advanced to second on a throwing error by the third baseman. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch and Burke knocked him in to put Gettysburg up 7-5. Averett once again tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with two runs off three hits.
However, the Bullets broke the tie immediately in the top of the fifth. Preziuso walked to start the rally and Stout did the same to put runners on first and second. Pistner flew out to right field, but deep enough to advance Preziuso to third. Shortly after, Vivona continued his all-star day and drove in Preziuso with a single to left field. Stout stole third and was knocked in along with Vivona by a double to left center from Burke. The Bullets managed to score six runs off five hits, leaving the score 13-7 Gettysburg.
Averett tried to match the Bullets once again but fell short, only scoring three runs off three hits to bring the score to 13-10 at the end of the fifth inning.
Gettysburg stayed hot in the top of the sixth, starting with a walk from Jack Pistner. Later in the inning, Hunter Del Guercio ’27 hit an RBI single through the right side to score both Pistner and Vivona.
Tyler Hillson ’26 came in to pitch for the Bullets in the bottom of the sixth inning and effectively shut down Averett. Hillson pitched three complete innings and only allowed one run and two hits. He tallied four strikeouts and no walks. Averett’s single run off him came in the bottom of the eighth, but Hillson was able to finish the inning and was taken out.
In the top of the ninth, Gettysburg tacked on two more runs and held a 17-11 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. They were able to make quick work of the Cougars to win the ball game.
Gettysburg split the doubleheader to bring their record on the year to 1-1. In an incredible display of hitting, Vivona totaled seven hits on the day, making him the Bullets’ hits leader. Burke and Anderson ended with four RBIs each on the day, and Weedon posted six strikeouts, cementing himself as the strike-out leader for the day.
Looking forward, the Bullets are heading to Bridgewater, Virginia to take on the Bridgewater Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 24 in another doubleheader.
