Box Score (Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson baseball team improved to 3-0 on the season, posting an 8-4 win at Penn State Harrisburg on Thursday afternoon.
The Red Devils had a strong start with junior right-hander Billy O'Neil (South Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy) recording three strikeouts in the first inning.
The Red Devils struck first, scoring twice in the second as junior Jonathan Chudacoff (Highland Park, Ill./Berkshire School) reached and went to second on an error to start the inning. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and came in to score on a double by first-year Max Matilsky (Bernardsville, N.J./Morristown-Beard).
Sophomore Max Brown (Annapolis, Md./McDonogh School) singled and junior Austin Sumners (W. Trenton, N.J./The Pennington School) hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Matilsky for a 2-0 lead.
The Lions capitalized on a pair of Red Devil miscues, scoring two unearned runs in the fourth inning to tie the game.
Dickinson tallied three runs in the top of the seventh to pull in front, 5-2. First-year Pat Davis (New Providence, N.J./Morristown-Beard) led-off the inning with a double before a pair of walks to Brown and Sumners loaded the bases.
Sophomore Stephen Sakowicz (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) came through with a single to score pinch-runner Joe Pepe (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville) and Brown for a 4-2 advantage. A double-steal moved Sumners to third and he would later come across on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to 5-2.
Sophomore Ben Woodard (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) came on in relief in the bottom of the seventh. He overcame a bit of a tough start to record three strikeouts, including the final two of the inning with the bases loaded.
The Lions loaded the bases again on the bottom of eighth, producing runs on a sacrifice fly and an error to cut the deficit to just a run.
The Red Devils answered with three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Sumners started things off, drawing a walk and stealing second. Sakowicz drove Sumners in on a single, stole second and moved to third on an error.
Robbie Thompson (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) tallied an RBI and came around to score on a double from senior Rick Hopkins (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J./Holy Spirit) to give Dickinson an 8-4 advantage, heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Junior Alex Gusikoff (Ardmore, Pa./Malvern Prep) came in to close in the bottom of the ninth, facing just three batters to secure the win.
Sakowicz led the way, going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs while Hopkins and Matilsky each recorded two hits and an RBI on the day. Sumners walked twice and scored a pair of runs.
O'Neill went six innings, recording nine strikeouts and scattering four hits to earn with win on the hill. Woodard booked four strikeouts in a two-hit effort, going two innings. Gusikoff added one in the ninth as the Devils combined for 14 strikeouts while allowing six hits.
The Red Devils travel to Salisbury University on Sunday for a double-header with the Seagulls. First pitch is set for 12:00 pm.
