YORK, PA – The York College Spartans opened up the MAC Commonwealth tournament quarterfinals with a split on Saturday against Hood College. The Spartans cruised to a 6-1 win in the opener but the Blazers battled back to force a game three on Sunday with a 14-11 slugfest win in the nightcap. The two teams will square off Sunday in Frederick to see who advances to next weekend's semifinal round.

The Spartans are now 23-6 overall while the Blazers are 11-20.

Game One

Hits: York 8, Hood 6

Errors: York 0, Hood 1

2B: York 3, Hood 1

3B: York 0, Hood 0

HR: York 2, Hood 1

LOB: York 5, Hood 6

WP: Brandon Haggerty (8-0) LP: Jahlin Jean-Baptise (4-4_

How it Happened

• The Blazers wasted little time in getting to Spartan ace Brandon Haggerty as Andrew Wenner hit a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to lead off the game, giving Hood the early lead. The Blazers got another hit in the inning but Haggerty got out of the frame without any further damage.

• Hood starter Jahlin Jean-Baptiste was brilliant early on for the Blazers. He mowed through the Spartans in the first four innings as York's had just two base hits through the first four frames. Thankfully for the Spartans, Haggerty was also sharp as he continued to throw up zeros, keeping the Spartan deficit at one.

• York finally broke through in the fifth but it came with a big assist from the Hood defense. With two outs, third baseman Craig Wiley fouled off six pitches when he was down 1-2 in the count against Jean-Baptiste. On the third foul ball, catcher Jacob Saylor dropped a foul pop up, keeping Wiley alive. The Spartan third baseman made the error hurt as he singled down the left field line to reach first. After he advanced to second on a passed ball, Jayden Cowan lashed a single to center, tying the game at one. Three pitches later, Austin Denlinger blasted a two run bomb to left, giving York a 3-1 lead. All three runs were unearned.

• Denlinger was at it again in the seventh as Cowan doubled to center with two outs. Denlinger came through again with a hustle double to pushed the Spartan lead to 4-1.

• Senior Jimmy Wiegers iced the game in the eighth with a two-run tape measure home run that pushed the led to 6-1.

• Haggerty came out for the ninth and got a nicely turned double play after giving up a lead-off single. He closed out the game to pick up his first career nine inning complete game.

Spartan Leaders

Junior shortstop Austin Denlinger had another big game as he was 2-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored, a home run and another double … senior lefty Brandon Haggerty was again brilliant as he scattered six hits, allowed one run, struck out five and walked one in his first career nine inning complete game … Haggerty improved to a MAC Commonwealth leading 8-0 with the win, his second of the week … Jayden Cowan and Craig Wiley both had multiple hits as Cowan was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI while Wiley was 2-for-3 with a run scored … Jimmy Wiegers blasted his fourth home run of the year as he was 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored

Game Two

Hits: York 14, Hood 14

Errors: York 3, Hood 1

2B: York 2, Hood 1

3B: York 0, Hood 0

HR: York 3, Hood 2

LOB: York 7, Hood 5

WP: Jordan Patterson (4-2) LP: Robert Chaney (5-1)

How It Happened

• York could not have asked for a better start as Jayden Cowan led off the bottom of the first with a single to left. Austin Denlinger followed with a laser shot home run to left center, putting the Spartans up 2-0. Jack Barry then stroked a double down the left field like as the Spartans were primed for a bigger inning. Hood starter Jordan Patterson settled in and struck out the next three batters to minimize the damage.

• The Blazers took the lead for good in the second. They began the frame with a single and a walk. A sacrifice bunt, one of four in game two, moved the runners up a base and Robert Chaney got a line out for out number two. Just when it looked like Chaney was going to get out of the jam, Jacob Saylor drove an outside pitch over the 16-foot high right field wall to give the Blazers as 3-2 lead.

• The Blazers added another three spot in the third as Nick Rampone had a two-out RBI single. Chris Nalley then singled through the left side to score two more as the Hood lead grew to 6-2.

• Hood made it 7-2 with a run off a wild pitch in the fifth. York got two of those runs back as Barry blasted his school record tying 14^th home run of the year, a two run shot that cut the Hood lead to 7-4.

• Hood answered with a pair of runs of their own in the sixth, pushing the lead back to five at 9-4. The Blazers made it 10-4 with a single run in the eighth but the Green and White responded with a three-run eighth inning. Denlinger homered for a second time to lead off the inning. The Spartans loaded the bases after the home run with no outs. Hood got a double play ground ball that scored a run making it 10-6. Luke Turner then singled in Joe Capobianco to make it 10-7.

• The inning allowed the Spartans to make the Hood lead manageable but the Blazers had other ideas as they scored four in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach, 14-7.

• The Spartans rallied again but the deficit would prove to be too great as the Spartans scored four runs of their own and left the bases loaded when the final out was recorded on a fly ball out.

Spartan Leaders

Senior Luke Turner tallied three hits to lead the Spartans while he also had three RBI for the Green and White … junior Austin Denlinger continued his torrid pace as he was 2-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored … Denlinger blasted two home runs as he now has six home runs in his last three games … Jack Barry blasted another home run as he was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI … Jayden Cowan had a strong second game as he was 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Notes

After sweeping the Blazers in the regular season, the Spartans are now 5-1 all-time against Hood with all six games happening in 2021 … the home run barrage continues for senior Jack Barry and junior Austin Denlinger …. Barry is now the first Spartan to reach 30 career home runs as he has blasted five home runs in his last four games as he is also 10-for-17 at the plate in those four games … Barry also has 10 RBI in his last four contests … Denlinger has been just as hot as he has seven home runs in his last four games with 12 RBI and 10 runs scored … Denlinger has gone 10-for-19 at the dish over the last four games … the tandem now each has 14 home runs which leads the nation and also ties the school single-season school record set by Bob Ancharski in 2001 … senior Brandon Haggerty is now 8-0 on the year and 17-5 for his career … his 17 wins now ranks sixth in career wins.

Up Next

The Spartans will play Hood in an elimination game on Sunday at 1:00 pm at Frederick Community College. The winner advances to face the winner of the Widener – Eastern quarterfinal which will also play an elimination game on Sunday. The two winners will play next Saturday in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals.

AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS COURTESY OF DARRELL HENRY - THE VOICE OF THE SPARTANS