MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg baseball opened the 2021 campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Susquehanna on Sunday afternoon, March 21. The Lions (2-0) started things off with a 7-2 victory in the opener before rallying to earn a 5-4 come-from-behind victory in extra innings in the second game of the twin bill.

GAME 1

Behind a stellar debut from starting pitcher Drew Harshbarger and home runs from Bret Williams and Chris Flynn, the Blue & White topped Susquehanna 7-2 in each team's season opener on Sunday. The hurler struck out six and allowed just one hit and one walk in 5.2 innings of work to earn the win.

After a Chase Smith single and Ryan McSorley walk in the bottom of the opening frame, Williams launched the first pitch he saw in 2021 over the fence in left field to put the home team out in front in the early going. In the bottom of the next stanza, Flynn made the River Hawks pay for an error earlier in the inning by crushing a 2-run homer to right field and extending the Lions' advantage.

Harshbarger rolled through the SU lineup and didn't allow a base knock until the sixth inning. Michael De Leon spelled him and racked up three strikeouts of his own in 2.1 innings of relief work. Williams lofted a double into the alley in right center and plated Smith and McSorley to tack on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh.

After the visitors got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, Kieran Kearns took the mound in the ninth and promptly struck out the first two batters he faced before getting Adam Schreck to ground out to McSorley at shortstop to end game one.

GAME 2

After a slow start, Penn State Harrisburg rallied in the final frames of the nightcap to secure a 5-4, 10-inning victory and complete the doubleheader sweep of the River Hawks.

Despite strong efforts from starting pitcher Zach Gettys and reliever Tyler Jackson, Susquehanna strung together hits in the top of the fourth and fifth stanzas, scoring one run each in back-to-back innings while SU pitching held the Blue & White to just two hits through the first six frames.

Things took a turn in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Flynn was hit by a pitch with one away. Then Chase Smith walked. The second hit-by-pitch of the inning put Ryan McSorley aboard and loaded the bases. Then, facing a 1-1 count, Bret Williams blasted a breaking ball over the fence in right field to put the home team ahead for the first time in game two.

The visitors didn't go away, however, and instead used a lead-off walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a pair of passed balls to tie things up in the top of the ninth without registering a hit in the frame. Reliever Tyler Stabley stranded a runner at third to get out of trouble and sat the River Hawks down in order in the top of the 10th.

The bottom half saw Casey Winters get things started with a lead-off walk before he proceeded to swipe second two batters later. Ben Closson entered the game as a pinch hitter and rewarded head coach Ryan Bown's decision by singling through the left side. As the ball found its way through the infield dirt, SU's Evan Knapp misplayed it in left field, resulting in it sneaking by and allowing Winters to come around and plate the game-winning run.   

Notables:

- Thanks to his grand slam, 3-run home run, and 2-run double, Bret Williams tallied nine total RBI on the day.

- Drew Harshbarger earned his first win with Penn State Harrisburg in impressive fashion, throwing 5.2 innings and striking out six batters while allowing just one hit and one walk.

- Chris Flynn's first at-bat for Penn State Harrisburg was a memorable one thanks to his 2-run home run in the second inning of the opener.

- Tyler Stabley earned the victory in game two, throwing the final 1.2 innings and racking up three strikeouts without surrendering a hit.

- On the day, Penn State Harrisburg pitching racked up 20 total strikeouts across both games.

- Ryan McSorley was hit by a pitch three times on the day, while Chase Smith had a pair of hit-by-pitches. Smith and McSorley rank 1-2 all-time in program history in hit-by-pitches.  

- Sunday's twin bill was a matchup of 2019 NCAA Tournament teams. Penn State Harrisburg and Susquehanna each won a game during that season's regional round.

- The Lions have had a lot of success in season-openers the past few springs, going 5-0-1 in Opening Day games since 2019.

Who's Next?

The Lions will travel to Mt. Aloysius for another non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon, March 23.