YORK, PA-The 2008 home opener for the York College baseball squad began with great promise but at the end of the game the Spartans faced another tough loss as the Mary Washington Eagles defeated the Spartans 14-3 in Capital Athletic Conference action on Monday. The Spartans, who have lost four straight, fall to 4-13 overall including 3-4 in the CAC. The Eagles improve to  16-4 overall and 8-2 in the conference.

The Spartans struck first as junior Matt Austin (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) had an RBI single in the bottom of the first to get the green and white on the board. York tacked on two more runs as Mike Santoro (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) had an RBI single to short and Chris Young (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Red Land) had an RBI fielder's choice.

Spartan starter Jason Christenberry (Yoe, Pa./Dallastown) was solid through the first four innings but the Eagles exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth. The Spartans played a large role in the big Eagle inning as they made a number of mental mistakes including throwing to the wrong base twice, allowing runners to take extra bases, and failing to cover a first base on an infield hit.

York was still in the game as Ryan Poff (York, Pa./Spring Grove) doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth but the Spartans' inability to get the key hit left Poff standing on third base at the end of the inning.

Mary Washington added two runs in the top of the sixth and one more in the top of the seventh, pushing the lead to 8-3. The Eagles blew the game open, with the help of the Spartan pitching staff, with six runs in the top of the eighth. The Eagles got the six runs in the frame courtesy three hits, a Spartan error, three walks, and a hit batter.

Seth Kaas earned the win in relief of starter Dylan White. Kaas relieved White in the fifth and shut down the Spartans, allowing two hits with six strikeouts and no walks in five innings as he improves to 3-0. White started and worked into the fifth. He allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits with four walks and one strikeout in his four-plus innings of action.

Christenberry suffered the loss as he falls to 0-4. He threw 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with three walks and one strikeout. The three relievers that followed Christenberry to the hill struggled as they combined to allow seven runs on four hits with 10 walks and two hit batters. Freshman Michael Roberts (Oceanside, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) was the only reliever that was unscathed as he got the final two outs of the game for York.

Riley Gorman led the Eagles as he was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Eric Rehbein was 3-for-5 with four RBI and a two runs scored while Alex Rossi was 3-for-6 with two RBI???and a run scored. The Eagles finished the game drawing 13 walks in the game while two other batters were hit by a pitch.

Austin, Santoro, and Young were the three Spartans that registered multiple hits. Austin was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Young was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Santoro was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday afternoon as they step out of conference play to host DeSales University. First pitch at Jaquet Field is scheduled for 3:30 pm.

GAME BOX