SCRANTON, PA – Susquehanna baseball proved that seeds are just numbers in its opening-round game Friday against top-seeded Elizabethtown in the Landmark Tournament, shelling the Blue Jays with an eight-run fourth inning on the way to a 12-3 victory. The River Hawks advance to Saturday's 2:30 p.m. championship bracket matchup between the winner of the Scranton-Catholic Friday evening matchup.

After three close competitive games during the regular season that Elizabethtown won by no more than three runs, the River Hawks broke through when it mattered. Facing a 2-0 deficit after the first inning, Brock Veit got a run back in the third with his single to left to score Michael Mancuso. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Dillan Weikel settled in after the opening frame, going five innings and allowing just two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. He surrendered three of those hits in the first.

E-Town's starter Gerg Zerbe gave up just one hit in the first three innings, but started the fourth with a walk and hit by pitch to instantly give the orange and maroon life. Another walk two batters later loaded the bases, sending up Mancuso who delivered a bases-clearing double down the right field line to give SU a 4-2 lead. Michael Biuso came up next, sending a double to center field to score Mancuso. Sean McCullough bunted his way on to put runners on the corners, then stole second to set up Brock Veit's two-RBI single to left center for a 7-2 ballgame. Veit the stole second, then advanced to third in Kris Morrow's infield single to short to set up JP Yore's two-RBI double to left field to cap off the eight-run frame.

Weikel retired the side in the fourth, then worked his way out of trouble in the fifth when the Blue Jays put their first two runners on and had the bases loaded with two outs, only to come away empty-handed. The River Hawks added more insurance in the top of the sixth when rookie phenom Tony Rossi contributed with a sacrifice fly to left field. Brice Gregory took over on the mound, allowing just one earned run in his two innings of service off one hit with one strikeout.

Susquehanna made up for that run in the top of the eighth, again opening an inning with two walks, which Rossi took advantage of with a ribbie double. A pitching change ensued, which was followed by Morrow and Yore getting hit by pitches to load the bases. This resulted in another run when Heyduk sent a sacrifice fly to left field to score Rossi to make it 12-3.

Dominic Yeager took over on the mound in the eighth to close the game out with two scoreless innings, offering up one strikeout and allowing just one hit and one walk. Weikel earned the win to improve to 4-2 on the season.

The River Hawks' dozen runs came off of only eight hits, but drew eight walks and had six more get on from HBP's. Yore was hit four times in what turned out to be a 1-for-1 afternoon with two RBIs and scoring one run. Veit and Mancuso led with three RBI's apiece, with Veit batting 2-for-5 and Mancuso 1-for-4 with one double and scoring two runs. McCullough drew a team-best three walks in his 1-for-3 day, coming across to score three times, while Morrow reached base four times from two walks, one HBP and batting 1-for-2, scoring twice.

While Friday's win simply means Susquehanna advances, it also served as a testament to the team's resilience from its disappointing outcomes in the season series with E-Town. The River Hawks were tied at five all with the Blue Jays in the series opener, only for Elizabethtown to score three in the ninth for an 8-5 win. The following game say SU up 9-5 after six before the Blue Jays put up three spots in the seventh and eighth to swipe an 11-9 win. In last Saturday's contest, both sides endured a 13-inning marathon that resulted in a 6-5 Elizabethtown win.

A win in the 2:30 matinee Saturday will send the River Hawks to their fourth straight Landmark Championship game. Otherwise, the will play the elimination game right after on Saturday to stay alive.