Box Score YORK, PA – The York College baseball team opened the 2021 campaign with an offensive explosion as the Spartans rolled past Lebanon Valley 15-2 in non-conference action on a beautiful Tuesday at Jaquet Field.
The Spartans blew the game open in the first inning with nine runs as they finished the day with 16 hits including six doubles, one triple and a pair of home runs.
The Spartans and Flying Dutchmen are both members of the MAC Commonwealth but the game was a non-conference contest because the two teams are not slated to meet during the Commonwealth slate. Commonwealth teams miss out on two opponents during the eight-week regular season and the Dutchmen and Stevenson are York's two misses on their 2021 schedule.
Game #1
Hits: York 16, LVC 7
Errors: York 0, LVC 0
Doubles: York 7, LVC 1
Triples: York 1, LVC 0
HR: York 2, LVC 0
WP: Brandon Haggerty (1-0); LP: Kyle Kingsbury (0-1)
How It Happened
• The Spartans jumped on the Dutchmen early as Craig Wiley led off the bottom of the first with a hustle double. After a strikeout, Austin Denlinger doubled to right center to move Wiley to third. Luke Turner then poked a single to right to score Wiley with the season's first run. Denlinger scored a few pitches later on a passed ball as Turner moved to second. Back-to-back walks to Jack Barry and Joe Capobianco loaded the bases for York. Jimmy Wiegers plated Turner with an RBI single of his own. The Dutchmen made a pitching change but it didn't slow the Spartans as Jayden Cowan laced a double to right to plate a pair. Brian Jakubek followed with a two-run double of his own and the rout was on. Wiley batted for a second time in the inning and he laced his second double of the game, scoring Jakubek. Wiley would come around to score the ninth run of the inning on a Denlinger two-out single to center.
• LVC got on the board in the fourth as Nico Santoro double to open the inning and eventually came around to score on a Mike Bulgia RBI single through the left side of the infield.
• York got that run back in the fifth as Cowan tripled and scored on a Wiley single down the left field line.
• The Spartans tacked on a three spot in the sixth as Turner was hit by a pitch and Barry walked to open the inning. After a fly out, Wiegers blasted a three-run homer to deep right, pushing the Spartan lead grew to 13-1.
• The hosts finished their scoring in the seventh as Brandon White hit a moonshot home run on a 1-0 pitch to lead off the inning. York also got a pinch-hit RBI single from senior Sal D'Onofrio to give York it's 15th run.
• LVC got their second run in the top of the eighth on a passed ball. The game was called in the middle of the eighth as darkness descended upon Jaquet Field and the game was called.
Top Spartan Performers
Senior Brandon Haggerty got the win as the Spartans had a pre-determined staff day … Haggerty went two innings, allowing one hit as he struck out four … sophomore Zach Reed also threw the ball well as he allowed one hit in two innings with three strikeouts … junior third baseman Craig Wiley banged out a career-high four hits including a career-high two doubles … Wiley also had two RBI and two runs scored … junior shortstop Austin Denlinger tallied three hits with a run scored and an RBI … senior Jimmy Wiegers went 2-for-4 with four RBI with three coming on his sixth inning home run … centerfielder Jayden Cowan went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while he also made a nice running catch up against the wall in the eighth inning.
Notes
The Spartans improve to 4-6 in openers under head coach Mike Scappa … the win snaps a five-game Spartan losing streak in season openers … the five pitchers York sent to the mound combined to strikeout out 12 and walk just two as they scattered seven hits … Nico Santoro had LVC's lone extra base hit with his double … Santoro led LVC with four hits ... York had eight hits in the opening inning with five of those hits being doubles … York drew six walks in the game and three of those Spartans came around to score … nine different Spartans had at least one hit in the win.
Up Next
The two teams face off again on Wednesday as the scene shifts to Annville. First pitch at LVC is set for 3:00 pm.
Audio Highlights courtesy of Darrell Henry - The Voice of the Spartans
