Lakewood, NJ (5/13/09) –Elizabethtown College capitalized on a two-out error in the top of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie, as the Blue Jays defeated Montclair State University, 5-2, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament at FirstEnergy Park on Wednesday evening.

Junior pitcher Adam Hartzell (Spring City, Pa.) worked into the ninth inning to earn his ninth victory of the season for the sixth-seeded Blue Jays (28-13), who advance to play on Thursday at 7:45 p.m., against the winner of Alvernia University and Keystone College.

The third-seeded Red Hawks (26-18) overcame a 2-0 deficit with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but left runners on third base in the fifth, sixth and eighth to fall into the loser's bracket. They will face the loser of the Alvernia/Keystone game on Thursday at 1:15 in an elimination game.

Senior Sam Heaps (Landenberg, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Blue Jays, who won their NCAA tournament opener for just the third time in 10 all-time appearances. Junior Rodney Francis (Pottstown, Pa.) stole two bases and scored a pair of runs for Elizabethtown, while senior Adam Sheibley (Landisburg, Pa.) scored twice and swiped three bags to boost his season total to 50, which leads all divisions of the NCAA.

Sophomore JAY BIONDE (Pompton Plains, N.J.) and junior SCOTT EVANGELIST (Northfield, N.J.) had RBI singles for the Red Hawks, while freshman ZACHARY BROWN (Green Village, N.J.) went 4-for-4 for Montclair State, which finished with 11 hits as a team but left nine runners on base.

With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, the Blue Jays had runners at second and third with two outs for junior Matt Vinagro (Fredericksburg, Va.), whose grounder to short was bobbled to allow junior Brian Kiernan (Garden City, N.Y.) to cross the plate with the go-ahead run. Elizabethtown added two insurance runs in the ninth on an RBI single by senior Tom Semanek (Swoyersville, Pa.) and a bases-loaded walk to Kiernan to take a 5-2 lead.

Hartzell issued his first walk of the night to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and was removed after 123 pitches in favor of Vinagro. After a single and a forceout, Vinagro struck out Bionde and MICHAEL BOGGI to end the game and earn his first save of the season.

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning as Francis reached on a two-base error and scored on a single to left by Heaps.

Elizabethtown extended its lead to 2-0 in the fifth as Sheibley drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third and came home on a sacrifice fly by Heaps.

Montclair State loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth on three consecutive singles, but Hartzell induced a force out at the plate and a popup to avoid damage.

The Red Hawks got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Boggi led off with a double and came home on a single by Evangelist, and knotted the game in the seventh as Brown singled with one out, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single to right by Bionde.

Senior MICHAEL STREAMAN (Westfield, N.J.) started for Montclair State and allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out six. Junior left-hander JOHN MASKLEE (Totowa, N.J.), the second of five pitchers for the Red Hawks, took the loss after giving up an unearned run on one hit in three innings. In all, the Red Hawk staff struck out 12 batters on the night but issued seven bases on balls.