Lexington, VA – Penn State Harrisburg Baseball traveled to Virginia for the second consecutive weekend, this time to take on 2017 ODAC runner-up Washington and Lee.  The team split the first two games of the three-game series, winning game one 7-6 and falling short in game two 9-7. 

Game 1- Penn State Harrisburg 7 vs. Washington and Lee 6

Game 2- Penn State Harrisburg 7 vs. Washington and Lee 9

Records:

Penn State Harrisburg: 3-3 Overall

Washington and Lee: 6-6 Overall

How it Happened:

The first game of the doubleheader began slow with only two hits for either team in the first three innings.  The Nittany Lions would get on the board first when Casey Winters scored on a Miguel Torres single in the fourth.  W&L would respond with their own run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game up again.  Harrisburg would score again in the fifth on a Josh Brubaker sacrifice fly to lead 2-1. 

The game would stay quiet until Washington and Lee would have a big seventh inning, scoring 3 runs on 2 hits to take a 2-run lead.  The Lions would respond in a bigger way in their next opportunity.  Bret Williams would single to lead off the eighth inning before Casey Winters would continue his great game with a 2-run home run to tie the game.  The inning wasn't over however.  Ryan McSorley would triple and bring home two runs, followed by a Chris Iocca sacrifice fly that would score McSorley.  McSorley's 2RBIs would serve as the game winner.  W&L would score two runs in the bottom of the ninth but couldn't find an equalizer against Cameron Michaud who earned his first save of the season (7-6).

In game two, the Lions would pick up right where they left off in the first game with a 5 run first inning.  Bret Williams and Zachary Koroneos would double in the inning and Miguel Torres would triple one batter later to give Harrisburg the early lead. Washington and Lee would respond with four runs of their own during the bottom of the first inning due in large part by two costly errors. 

The Lions would gather themselves back together defensively and keep prevent W&L from scoring in the second.  Unfortunately, the stop would be short lived as W&L scored once in the third to tie the game and 4 times in the fourth to give the Generals a confident lead 9-5.  The Lions would reach base 6 more times through the 8^th inning but failed to cut into the lead any. 

Harrisburg would have one final opportunity to rally in the ninth inning.  The inning started off with a Ryan McSorley walk, followed by a Justin O'Dell single.  Tyler Aug was hit by a pitch during the next at-bat to load the bases and give the Lions the hope they needed.  Chase Smith would ground to first on the following play but would score McSorley from 3^rd and keep two runners on base.  Chris Iocca would come into pinch hit and was walked, loading the bases once again.  Last years 2^nd team All-CAC athlete Bret Williams would step to the plate with a big opportunity. Williams would hit a long fly ball to left field.  The ball would be caught just short of the grand slam, but was enough to score O'Dell from third, cutting into the lead further.  Casey Winters would attempt to be the 2 out hero, but also found himself just short with a long fly ball to center field to end the game.  The Lions would finish with the game 13 hits and 4 walks. 

Inside The Stats:                                                

Game 1

Winning Pitcher: PSH – Brendan Riotto (1-1)

Losing Pitcher: W&L – Danny Devereux (0-1

Save: PSH - Cameron Michaud (1)

Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (9) vs. Washington and Lee (8)

Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (1) vs. Washington and Lee (3)

Game 2

Winning Pitcher: W&L – Tyler Murphy (1-1)

Losing Pitcher: PSH - Austin Kunkel (0-1)

Save: W&L – Andrew Earvolino (2)

Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (13) vs. Washington and Lee (13)

Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (4) vs. Washington and Lee (1)

Impact Performance:

Game 1

Casey Winters – 2-4, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, 1 HR

Ryan McSorley – 1-3, Triple, 2 RBIs, Walk

Cameron Michaud – 1.0 IP, 2 K, Save

Game 2

Zachary Koroneos – 3-4, 1 Run, 1 RBI, Double

Bret Williams – 2-5, 2 RBIs, 1 Run, Double

Miguel Torres - Triple

What's Next:

The Nittany Lions will stay in Lexington for one more game against W&L Sunday at Noon before heading to South Carolina. Follow Penn State Harrisburg all season long on social media with the following handles and hashtags:

Twitter - www.twitter.com/pshbgbaseball

Instagram - www.instagram.com/pennstatehbgathletics

Facebook - www.facebook.com/pennstatehbgathletics

#BlueCollarBaseball