GETTYSBURG, PA. - The Ursinus College baseball team battled in their regular season finale against Gettysburg College but were unable to fend off the Bullets in a Centennial Conference doubleheader from Kirchoff Field. The Bullets took the opener, 13-7, before outlasting the Bears in the nightcap by a score of 10-2.
Game One – Ursinus 7 Gettysburg 13
Gettysburg jumped on the board first in the opening frame after a sacrifice fly from Tristan Neels brought home the opening run of the ballgame. In the second inning, Ursinus tied the game at one a piece after Jordan Williams doubled down the left field line to score Jakob Cantor. Next up, Dylan Crammer followed with a double as well to score Williams for a 2-1 advantage. Gettysburg tied the game at two-a-piece in the bottom half of the inning after Preston Toothman scored on a stolen base attempt from JR McCloskey. The Bears regained the lead in the fifth inning after Nick Diaz lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Solomon Griffith to score. In the bottom half of the frame, the Bullets tallied a seven spot on the scoreboard off five hits and two Bears' errors.
A Matteo Falcone double to left center brought home two runs in the seventh inning, making the score 9-5, Gettysburg. The Bullets once again bounced back with a four-run seventh inning, after back-to-back errors on the Bears defense stretched out the rally. Bears pitcher Jared Minnichbach was able to escape the jam after a flyout to left field stranded two runners. With the score 13-5 in the ninth, Ursinus was able to tally two more runs before Brett Leighton ended the inning with a groundout, stranding two runners on base. In the inning, the Bears opened with back-to-back doubles from Solomon Griffith and Nick Diaz and loaded the bases after Tim Pyne walked. Cantor was next up and reached base via a fielder's choice but earned an RBI after a Bullets error. Liam Geib came into pinch hit with two outs and singled through the left side to score Pyne from third.
Freshman Kieran Hollander was handed the loss after pitching four innings while allowing six runs and striking out three batters. Gettysburg's Nate Masteralexis earned the win out of the bullpen after pitching six innings and fanning seven batters. At the plate, Solomon Griffith led the way, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored while Cantor, Diaz, and Crammer each added two hits.
Game Two – Ursinus 2 Gettysburg 10
Game two turned into a pitcher's duel through the first six innings as junior Casey Murphy turned in 6.2 innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out five batters. For the Bullets, Brett Leighton and Patrick Clementi combined for 8.2 innings while just allowing one earned run and five punchouts.
The Bullets scored the first run of the game in the opening frame after Matt Muir scored on a throwing error from the Bears. Murphy started to settle into form in the second inning, retiring the side in order after a strikeout and two groundouts. Ursinus tied the ballgame at one a piece in the third inning after Matteo Falcone reached base via an error allowing Crammer to score from third. During the next at-bat, Falcone advanced to second on a stolen base and tried to score from second after Pyne singled to right field but was thrown out to end the inning.
Both pitchers (Murphy & Clementi) were cruising through the middle innings as the score remained tied at one a piece after five innings of play. In the sixth inning, Peter Balos and Andrew Richter opened with back-to-back singles to put two runners on for the Bears. Dylan Runsdorf followed with a single to right center, scoring Balos from second and giving Ursinus a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Murphy continued to deal on the mound allowing just one baserunner before stranding a runner on second after a pop out to third. Gettysburg regained the lead in the seventh after a two-out triple by Kyle Miller scored two runners. Senior Luke Verga relieved Murphy for Ursinus and got the next batter out via a flyout to end the inning. In the eighth, Balos led off the inning with a single but was only able to advance to second before a strike out ended the threat.
In the bottom half of the inning, Gettysburg added seven insurance runs off three hits and five free passes. The biggest hit came from Neels with two outs after he drove a double into the left center gap scoring three runs. Teo Torrado came into the game in the ninth to pitch for Gettysburg and closed out the game after striking out the final batter.
At the plate Griffith, Balos, Richter, and Runsdorf each tallied two hits for Ursinus in the night cap.
With the losses, the Bears finished their 2022 season with a 12-26 record and 4-14 in Centennial Conference action.