ELIZABETHTOWN – Despite a five-run eighth inning at the plate, the Wilkes baseball team was unable to complete the comeback as they dropped the third and final game of their Landmark Conference series to Elizabethtown College by a score of 8-6 Sunday afternoon at Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium.
 
The loss moved the Colonels to 19-12 on the season. The club currently sits at 10-9 in conference competition.
 
The Blue Jays picked up their third consecutive victory, improving to 24-9 overall and 13-5 in Landmark play.
 
Elizabethtown got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with a double to left center that scored a run from third as the hosts took an early 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Colby Butczynski (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke) was able to get out of the inning and strand two runners on the basepaths.
 
Mike Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) secured the first base hit of the afternoon for Wilkes in the top of the second with a leadoff single up the middle, but was picked off on a well-hidden throw over to first by ETown's pitcher. After Jimmy Brazofsky (Park Ridge, NJ/Park Ridge) reached base with a single up to left, Max Alessi (Wallenpaupack, PA/Wallenpaupack) worked a walk to put two runners on for the Colonels. The visitors were kept off the board after a pair of strikeouts ended the half inning.
 
After giving up a leadoff double down the left field line, Co. Butczynski fanned the next batter he faced and got some help from Chase Vrabel (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) at first, who fielded back-to-back grounders for unassisted putouts to end the second.
 
With two outs in the top of the third, a hard-hit ball by Luke Spencer (Lehman, PA/Lake Lehman) caused the second baseman to commit an error that put Spencer on first base. The Colonels' third baseman took off for second and beat the throw to put himself in scoring position, however a flyout to left kept Wilkes searching for their first run of the ballgame.
 
Three outfield flyouts got Co. Butczynski and the rest of the Colonels off the field quickly, sending the contest into its fourth inning.
 
Two more pickoffs by the Blue Jays' pitcher  took a pair of Wilkes runners off the bases in the top of the fourth frame to keep the Blue and Gold off the board.
 
In the bottom of the fourth frame, Elizabethtown put up four runs on five hits to take a 5-0 lead before Ryan Sanderson (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) entered the game and retired the first batter he faced to end the inning.
 
With a full-count, Nathan Loch (Effort, PA/Pleasant Valley) poked a single into right center, but was put out on a 4-3 double play that ended the top of the fifth.
 
A leadoff single to right proved to be costly for Wilkes as another single to right center drove the runner home to increase the ETown lead to 6-0. Sanderson got a pick-me-up from Alessi from behind the dish when the catcher gunned down a runner attempting to steal second base for the second out of the inning. The senior pitcher retired the side on a swinging strikeout.
 
Ryan Cosby (Buford, GA/Mountain View (GA)) took the mound in relief of Sanderson in the sixth and found himself in a bit of a situation with the bases loaded and one out. He escaped the jam with 5-3 double play to prevent the Blue Jays from adding to their lead.
 
After Zack Luksic (Shavertown, PA/Dallas) and Brazofsky worked a pair of one-out walks, Loch doubled down the right field chalk to bring home the Colonels' designated hitter and put Wilkes on the board. Matthew Show (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) loaded the bases with the third walk of the inning, but a strikeout kept the visitors from tacking on any further damage. Midway through the seventh, the Blue and Gold trailed 6-1.
 
Caleb Butczynski (Nanticoke, PA/Greater Nanticoke Area) entered the ballgame and promptly struck out the first two Blue Jays he faced swinging. A pair of walks came around to bite Wilkes as a triple to deep center scored both runners to expand the ETown lead to 8-1. Todd Kolbicka (Hanover Twp., PA/Hanover) came on in relief of Ca. Butczynski and recorded the final out of the inning by way of a flyout to center field, leaving the bases loaded for Elizabethtown.
 
Spencer, Vrabel and Mi. Show led off the eighth inning with two hit-by-pitches and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Luksic became the fourth consecutive Colonel to reach safely without hitting a ball into play as he took ball four to walk home Spencer from third. Zachary Lloyd (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) stepped up to the plate in his first collegiate at-bat and became the third Wilkes batter to wear a pitch, walking in Vrabel to make it an 8-3 contest. Loch kept the scoring coming with a single that squeezed inside the right field line, allowing Mi. Show and Luksic to cross the plate and cut the deficit to a mere three runs. Meanwhile, Ruben Ortiz Montemayor (Veraguas, Panama/Iclave), who came in to pinch run for Lloyd, made advance 180 feet to third base while Loch took second on the throw home. Cambria fought all the way back from an early 0-2 count to walk, loading the bases once again for Spencer. The Wilkes third baseman worked the fourth walk of the inning to bring in Ortiz Montemayor from third. The disciplined half inning for the Colonels resulted in five runs coming home to make it a close 8-6 affair.
 
Ethan Jezewski (Millerstown, PA/Greenwood) stepped onto the bump for the bottom of the eighth and struck out the leadoff batter with a well-placed pitch. Back-to-back flyouts to Mi. Show in center field completed Jezewski's 1-2-3 inning and sent Wilkes up for their final scheduled at-bats of the afternoon.
 
A 1-2-3 inning sealed the deal for the Blue Jays, who completed the series sweep with an 8-6 win.
 
Co. Butczynski was charged with the loss, falling to 1-4 on the year after striking out two while allowing five runs on ten hits. Loch went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and three RBIs and Brazofsky finished 2-for-4 with a walk.
 
Greg Zerbe picked up his fourth win of the season to keep his perfect record, which now stands at 4-0. The right-hander allowed just two hits through 2.0 innings on the mound for Elizabethtown, striking out three batters in the process. Garrett Schwartzbeck drove in two runs on a triple and added a sacrifice bunt to the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Quinten Perilli, AJ Bednar, Alex Perrin and Alex McClain all recorded doubles in the win.
 
The Colonels return home to Bruggeworth Field on Monday, April 22 when they host DeSales University for a non-conference matchup at 4:00 p.m.