YORK, PA – The York College baseball squad stretched their
winning streak to six on Thursday with an 11-4 victory over Messiah
on a beautiful afternoon in York. The Spartans now stand at 12-9
for the season while the Falcons drop to 8-10.
The Green and White jumped out front early with a two-run first.
Designated hitter Dustin Worthman (Tabernacle,
N.J./Seneca) led off the bottom half of the inning with a
single into left center and eventually scored two batters later.
The Spartans added another as clean-up man Mike Connolly
(Selden, N.Y./Newfield), who has been scalding hot over
the past several games, crushed a round-tripper down the right
field line to give York a 2-0 advantage.
Two innings later, the Spartans tacked on another as Worthman
led off York's half with another single. He stole second and
was pushed to third when Kyle Cook (Pylesville, Md./North
Harford), in a piece of smart hitting grounded out to
second allowing Worthman to move up a bag. Rick Shumway
(Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) then brought in
Worthman with a single into left.
The Spartan bats then exploded in the fourth scratching across
four runs in the frame. Rightfielder Joe Doyle
(Stewartstown, Pa./Red Lion ) hoisted a homerun over the
elevated right field fence, giving York a 4-0 lead. Shortstop
Rob Klinck (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional)
followed with a ringing double to left center before Matt
Monti (Easton, Pa./Easton) added a single through the left
side. Monti then stole second, putting runners at second and third
with no outs. Worthman would strike out, but a wild pitch allowed
Worthman to reach first and Klinck to come in to score. With Monti
now standing on third, Worthman then stole second as the Spartans
found themselves in familiar position with runners at second and
third and nobody out. Shumway proceeded to single up the middle
brining in both Monti and Worthman. Up 7-0, the Spartans never
looked back.
Messiah broke up the Spartans shutout in the sixth, as an Alex
Lentz double scored Drew Frankenfield, but only tallied one.
Spartan starter Joey Couch (Ellicott City,
Md./Centennial) successfully navigated the danger as he
coaxed Jon Shenk to groundout to short to end the inning.
York would add four more runs in their final two at-bats before
Messiah tacked on three in the ninth. However, it proved too little
too late for the Falcons as the Green and White captured the 11-4
non-conference triumph.
Couch takes the victory on the mound as he threw a strong six
innings. The rookie hurler scattered six hits and only allowing one
run while striking out three and walking just two. Andy
Rosenzweig (Glen Rock, Pa./Susquehannock), Chris
Frankenfield (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon), and Tom
Moran (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) each tossed an inning
over the final three frames to complete the win.
York reached Falcon starter Travis Thome, who suffered the loss,
for nine hits and seven runs during the pitcher's 3.1 innings
outing.
Worthman was a spark for the Green and White at the top of the
line up going 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Doyle posted a
3-for-5 day, including his towering homer, while Cook, Shumway,
Connolly, and Klinck each banged out two hits.
Connolly has simply torn up opposing pitching during
York's six-game run. The left-handed swinging Connolly has
hit a torrid .500 on an 11-for-22 performance while hitting a pair
of homeruns and recording six RBI since March 24.
Connolly and the Spartans will look to continue their respective
hot streaks when York hosts Mary Washington on Friday, April 1. The
Capital Athletic Conference tilt is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start
from Jaquet Field.
GAME BOX
Photo: Mike Connolly went 2-for-4 with a homerun and
a RBI in York's 11-4 win over Messiah
