Penn State Harrisburg 8, Hood 5

Harrisburg Lineup

1. Smith cf, 2. McSorley ss, 3. Williams lf, 4. Van Houten p, 5. Koroneos 1b, 6. Aug c, 7. Parks 3b, 8. Winters rf, 9. Skinner 2b

Hood Lineup

1. Rampone rf, 2. Shepherd 2b, 3. Sawyer 1b, 4. Beck lf, 5. Patterson p, 6. Copenhaver ss, 7. Kroeger c, 8. DeProspero 3b, 9. Wennter cf

How It Happened

Penn State Harrisburg used a five-run seventh inning to pull away from Hood in an 8-5 road victory at the Frederick Community College Baseball Field on Monday afternoon, March 2.

Chase Smith had a big day, going 2-for-3 with four runs scored, an RBI and a walk, while Ryan McSorley and Bret Williams registered three hits apiece. Travis Van Houten was strong on the mound, earning the win after allowing five hits and no earned run in seven innings of work to go along with seven strikeouts.

Holding a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh, the Lions (3-1) took advantage of three consecutive hit-by-pitches and two wild offerings from Blazers' pitchers, scoring five runs on three hits in the frame. Smith drove in Matt Parks with a single up the middle, McSorley plated Smith with a single to right field and a Van Houten groundout brought McSorley across to push the advantage to 7-0.

An error allowed the Blazers (4-3) to get on the board in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of unearned runs before tacking on another in the bottom of the next stanza.

Bret Williams added an insurance run for the Blue & White when his RBI single through the left side in the top of the eighth drove in Smith but Hood threatened in the bottom of the ninth, using two extra-base hits to plate two more runs and cut the deficit to three. Reliever Austin Kunkel was able to work out of it, however, and struck out the final batter of the game to secure the victory for Penn State Harrisburg.

At the Plate

- Leadoff man Chase Smith finished 2-for-3 with four runs scored, an RBI and a walk.

- Bret Williams went 3-for-5, with his double standing as the Lions' only extra-base hit, and an RBI.

- Ryan McSorley was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

- Casey Winters was responsible for the team's ninth base knock.

- Joe Kroeger led the way for Hood, going 4-for-5 with a triple and an RBI.

On the Mound

- Travis Van Houten got the win after turning in a quality start, going seven innings and striking out seven batters. He allowed just five hits and surrendered no earned runs.

- The Lions chased Hood starter Jordan Patterson from the game after five innings. Patterson struck out eight batters and allowed just one run on three hits.

- Blazer reliever Jahlin Jean-Baptiste also had a nice outing, striking out six in two innings and giving up one run on two hits.

- Austin Kunkel threw the final two innings for the Blue & White, allowing three runs on five hits. He also registered four strikeouts.

Around the Diamond

- Penn State Harrisburg committed five errors, leading to a pair of unearned runs for the Blazers.

- Hood committed just one error, resulting in one unearned run.

- Chase Smith stole two bases and Bret Williams swiped one bag.

- The Blazers racked up four stolen bases on the day.

- Ryan McSorley registered three assists from his shortstops position.

Who's Next?

The Lions face a tough test when they travel to No. 20 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday afternoon, March 4.

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