ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - The Catholic University baseball team split with Elizabethtown College 4-1 and 9-8 on Saturday. 

Catholic's (8-4, 8-4 LC) split was highlighted by two home runs from junior Peter Giombetti and senior Tyler Shaffer. Sophomore Tucker Alch went the distance on the mound in game one while the Cardinals' bullpen was tested in game two with five pitchers facing the Blue Jays' (7-7, 7-7 LC) lineup. 

Catholic 4, Elizabethtown 1: 

The Cardinals would jump ahead of the Blue Jays at the top of the first inning with a 2-0 lead. Sophomore right fielder Ben Nardi drew a walk then was sent back home by Giombetti's second home run of the season. The Blue Jays responded by putting up their only run of the game making the score 2-1 heading into the second. 

At the top of the third, junior third baseman Matt Tesoriero took advantage of a walk to put him on the basepaths. With two outs, senior first baseman Nolan Lundholm stepped up with a double to left field to score Tesoriero for a 3-1 lead. 

The Cardinals lengthened their lead by one more run at the top of the seventh. Tesoriero led off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a groundout by Nardi to be in scoring position. He was able to steal third and then advance home on a throwing error by the Blue Jays' catcher to bring the score to 4-1. With Elizabethtown unable to get their bats going at the bottom of the seventh, Catholic took game one. 

Alch faced 26 batters allowing only four hits and one walk, striking out six. He improved to 3-0 on the mound with a 1.13 ERA, the second-best in the Landmark. 

Elizabethtown 9, Catholic 8: 

In game two, both the Cardinals and the Blue Jays took turns taking the lead from one another until Elizabethtown came out on top. 

Catholic was first to score again with two runs on two hits at the top of the first inning. A walk by Nardi gave him the opportunity to be batted in by Lundholm's double. Tesoriero singled and then advanced to second on the throw, allowing Lundholm to cross the plate. 

Elizabethtown had an early rally producing four runs off only one hit at the bottom of the first. The first three batters were either walked or hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Blue Jays. A wild pitch and a past ball allowed for two runs to cross the plate, tying the score 2-2. A two-run RBI double knocked in the other set of runs for Elizabethtown's 4-2 lead at the end of the first inning. 

Catholic regained the lead by three runs scored on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly by Nardi, Lundholm and Giombetti. The 5-4 lead by Cardinals did not last long as the Blue Jays responded immediately during their next at-bat with another two runs on four hits. Elizabethtown held a one-run lead over Catholic moving into the third inning. 

An RBI-double by sophomore second baseman Derek Zelesnick scored freshman catcher Zach Burton for the game's third tie of 6-6. A pair of scoreless innings on both sides kept the score tied until the bottom of the fifth where the Blue Jays regained and kept the lead over the Cardinals. 

Elizabethtown took advantage of two defensive errors by Catholic resulting in three unearned runs and a 9-6 lead. Senior left fielder Michael Doody found himself in scoring position after he drew a walk and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly to left field scored him for Catholic's seventh run. 

At the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Shaffer blasted his first career home run. Despite this, Catholic could not get back in front of Elizabethtown.

Senior Chris Kelly took the loss for the Cardinals, falling to 1-1 on the mound. He pitched three total innings striking out one and walking one. 

Catholic will host Elizabethtown tomorrow at Robert J Talbot field beginning at 12:30 p.m.