Playing for just the second time since returning from Spring Break on March 15, the Lancaster Bible College baseball team dropped a close non-conference contest to Gettysburg, 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon in Gettysburg, Pa. The Chargers are now 3-6 overall, while the Bullets improved to 9-7.
 
How it Happened: Ryan LaCoe's RBI double in the bottom of the first inning got the home team on the board, and Gettysburg tacked on another run in the third inning as well. Lancaster Bible put a runner on third with one out in the fourth inning, as Josh Saufley drew a walk, and then moved around to third on a passed ball and sacrifice bunt from Colin Myers, but he was stranded there, and Gettysburg scored again in the fifth inning to make it 3-0.
 
Mike VanDame and Saufley connected for back-to-back singles in the top half of the sixth inning, and Myers followed with a walk. With the bases loaded and just one out, Luis Padilla Jr. drew another walk, and VanDame came in from third. Lancaster Bible couldn't get any more runs across in the inning, and the Bullets scored in their half of the sixth to regain the three-run lead.
 
Senior Will Welsh singled and eventually scored on an error in the eighth inning, and after Trevor High held the Bullets scoreless in the bottom of the inning, Lancaster Bible had three outs to make-up two runs. Jaden Pinkney led off the inning and reached on an error, and eventually made it to third after a balk and a wild pitch. VanDame singled home Pinkney to make it 4-3, but the Chargers couldn't get VanDame into scoring position, and lost by a run.
 
Inside the Box Score: Lancaster Bible had seven hits on Tuesday, while the Bullets had nine…VanDame finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI…Saufley was 2-for-4 with a walk, while Welsh and Jacob Schenck had the other Lancaster Bible hits…Beau Heagy walked twice as well for the Chargers…Lancaster Bible used a pitcher-by-committee on Tuesday, as Dan Zimmerman, Kyle Ebersole, Adam Cohick, Tyler Greenly and High saw action on the mound…Cohick, Greenly, and High pitched the final three innings, and combined to allow just one run and one walk.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 0-2 all-time against Gettysburg…VanDame's three hits were his first of the season, as he broke out of an 0-for-14 slump to begin the season…Lancaster Bible is now 0-2 in true road games this season…Saufley leads the team in on-base percentage at .500, due in large part to his team-high nine walks…Saufley is also one of four players with double-digit hits.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible opens North Eastern Athletic Conference play this weekend, as the Chargers will face Penn College in a doubleheader on Saturday, and a single, nine-inning game on Sunday…All three games will be played at Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg, Pa.