MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg baseball split the first two contests of its North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament Semifinal Series with Lancaster Bible on Saturday afternoon, May 8. The Chargers pulled the upset in the opener, taking game one by a 6-3 score. The Lions responded in game two, evening the best-of-three series thanks to a 14-6 victory in the nightcap.

GAME 1

Penn State Harrisburg struggled to drive in runs when it mattered in a 6-3 loss to Lancaster Bible in game one of the NEAC Tournament Semifinal Series on Saturday afternoon. Bret Williams and Dallas Hite each homered, with the pair combining for five hits in the opener.

The Chargers used four seeing-eye singles and a fielder's choice to plate three runs in the top of the first, while the Blue & White were unable to score Hite from third base with no outs in the bottom of frame.

The visitors turned a lead-off double into another run in the top of the third before Williams finally got the Lions on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run blast that brought Ryan McSorley around with him.

From there, Penn State Harrisburg had chances to continue to cut into the deficit but left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded a pair in scoring position in the bottom of the ensuing stanza after the Chargers added another run in the top of the sixth.

As the weather began to wreak havoc in the ninth, an error allowed Lancaster Bible to tack on an insurance run in the top half. The Lions tried to fight back through high winds and some rain in the bottom half, with Hite leading off with a solo homer but the Chargers worked out and completed the upset in game one.

GAME 2

Penn State Harrisburg bounced back in a big way in the second game of the NEAC Tournament Semifinal Series, racking up 15 hits en route to a 14-6 victory over Lancaster Bible in Saturday's nightcap. Bret Williams and Drew Bechtold homered, with Bechtold driving in a game-high three runs, and Austin Kunkel turned in a quality start in earning the win on the mound.

The Blue & White got things started with four runs in the bottom of the first, with Williams, Bechtold, and Matt Parks all driving in runs in the opening stanza. Williams added to the lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the third before Matt Isaac's RBI groundout plated Parks to push the advantage to 6-0.

After the visitors got on the board in the top of the fourth, the Lions scored four unanswered runs thanks to sacrifice fly from Dallas Hite, an RBI single from Bechtold, and a Maddux Ryan double that pushed Bechtold and Chase Smith across.

Bechtold's solo homer in the bottom of the seventh made it 11-3 and two errors on a Simeon Davis bunt single allowed Williams and Parks to come across in the bottom of the eighth. Smith capped the Penn State Harrisburg scoring with an RBI groundout before Everett Horton got the final outs on the mound to force a deciding game on Monday.

NOTABLES:

- Bret Williams went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored in game one.

- Dallas Hite finished 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk in the first contest.

- The Lions committed three errors in the opener, compared to one for Lancaster Bible.

- Zach Gettys got the start in game one, going five innings and striking out five before giving way to Tyler Jackson.

- Jackson threw the final four innings, allowing just one earned run and tallying five strikeouts.

- Lancaster Bible had 13 hits in the opener, with only one being of the extra-base variety.

- Williams was 3-for-3 with a solo shot, a double, two RBI, two walks, and three runs scored in game two.

- Matt Parks went 3-for-4 with a triple, four runs scored and an RBI in the second outing.

- Drew Bechtold finished 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBI, and two runs scored in the nightcap.

- Maddux Ryan hit two doubles and drove in two runs in the second game.

- Austin Kunkel earned the win in the game two, throwing six innings and allowing just three hits to go along with seven strikeouts.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions and Chargers will meet in the series rubber match on Monday afternoon, May 10. The winner of game three will advance to next weekend's NEAC Championship Series.