EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes baseball team took down Lycoming College 7-2 in the second game of their Landmark Conference series Wednesday afternoon at Bruggeworth Field.
 
With the win, the Colonels improved to 18-5 on the season and 9-3 in conference play. The Warriors fell to 5-20 overall and 2-12 in the Landmark.
 
Colby Butczynski (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke) took the mound for his sixth appearance of the season and didn't disappoint, tossing three-straight 1-2-3 innings to get through the top of the third with no base runners and a pair of strikeouts. He was helped out by a beautiful backhanded scoop by third baseman Luke Spencer (Lehman, PA/Lake Lehman), who recorded the first out of the third by lunging to his right to prevent a ball from squeaking into the outfield.
 
The Wilkes offense got to work in the bottom of the third, as Jacob Cambria (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia) worked a leadoff walk and then promptly stole second. On the very next at-bat, Matthew Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) laid down a perfectly-placed bunt that brought the Warriors' pitcher off the mound and forced him into a quick throw to first. The throw was off target, allowing Cambria to cruise home after advancing to third to open up a 1-0 lead.
 
Lycoming answered back in the top of the fourth with a leadoff double down the right field line that was knocked home thanks to a sacrifice ground-out. The run knotted up the ballgame at 1-1.
 
The Colonels threatened to break the tie with runners on first and second and one out in the bottom of the fourth frame, however a nice diving catch from the Warrior center fielder and a strikeout ended the inning.
 
A hit-by-pitch to lead off the fifth proved costly after a single and sacrifice bunt moved the runner over to third. He came around to score on a sac-fly to right, tagging up and beating the throw to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
 
The Lycoming lead was short-lived, as a ground-rule double by Mike Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) brought home Chase Vrabel (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland), who had previously gotten into scoring position on a double to right center. After tying the game, Jimmy Brazofsky (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) ripped an RBI single to right that allowed Mi. Show to trot home and reclaim the lead 3-2 after five innings of play.
 
Co. Butczynski continued his strong start on the bump with his fourth 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon to keep Lycoming off the board in the top of the fifth.
 
Ma. Show got himself on base in the bottom of the inning with a one-out ground-rule double. One at-bat later, he crossed home plate when Spencer crushed a double to center field, building the lead up to two runs.
 
In the seventh, Co. Butcyznski made the most of his final full inning of work. The junior erased a leadoff walk with an unassisted double play after Vrabel caught a line drive and stepped on the bag to put out the runner. The right hander helped his own cause by fielding a ground ball to retire the side.
 
Co. Butczynski was relieved by Mi. Show midway through the top of the eighth and quickly recorded the final two outs of the inning to maintain the 4-2 lead for Wilkes.
 
After Cambria was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half of the eighth, he was moved to second on a sac-bunt by Mi. Show. On the ensuing at-bat, Nathan Loch (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley) reached safely on a fielder's choice while the Lycoming defense was unable to catch Cambria, who scooted to third to put runners on the corners for Spencer. The Blue and Gold's third baseman connected on a pitch to center field, scoring Cambria and moving Loch to third. Shortly thereafter, Spencer drew a throw to second base on a successful steal attempt. The Warriors' shortstop was unable to handle the throw, which allowed Loch to cross the plate as the 6-2 run. Mi. Show came up to bat later in the inning and ripped a two-out single to right that drove Spencer home from second base. Wilkes led 7-2 as Lycoming prepared to take their final scheduled at-bats.
 
Ryan Sanderson (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) came in to close the game out for the Colonels and did just that; recording a pair of groundouts and fanning the final batter of the game to finish off the Warriors.
 
Co. Butczynski picked up his first win of the season, moving to 1-2 after striking out three and only allowing two runs through 7.1 innings on the mound. Spencer and Mi. Show both contributed a pair of RBIs to the scoresheet while Cambria came around to score twice.
 
Rick Trapanese was assessed with the loss after allowing two runs on four hits through 2.1 innings of relief pitching. His record evened out at 1-1. Zachary Pleska and Kai Foster drove in Lycoming's pair of runs in the ballgame while Jake Schilling and Nick Reeder both collected a base hit.
 
The Colonels continue their homestand on Saturday, April 13 when they welcome Catholic University to town for a Landmark doubleheader. First pitch against the Cardinals in game one is set for 12:00 p.m. with game two slated to start at 3:00 p.m.