WHITEWATER, Wis. – Penn State Harrisburg baseball held off a late push from No. 24 Texas Lutheran to secure a 6-4 victory in the NCAA Tournament Regional Round at Wisconsin-Whitewater's Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium on Friday afternoon, May 28. Drew Harshbarger earned the win on the mound before Tyler Jackson slammed the door en route to picking up the save. Chase Smith tallied a game-high three RBI, Bret Williams drove in a pair, and Dallas Hite racked up three base hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State Harrisburg never trailed in its 6-4 victory over No. 24 Texas Lutheran on Friday afternoon. The nationally-ranked Bulldogs rallied to make things close in the seventh inning but the Lions added a late insurance run before stranding a pair of TLU runners in the ninth to end the contest.
The Blue & White got on the board first when Bret Williams hit a two-strike pitch back up the middle with the bases loaded and two away in the top of the second frame. His RBI single scored Maddux Ryan and Dallas Hite and gave Penn State Harrisburg a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The offense took advantage of a Texas Lutheran error in the top of the third and Chase Smith made the Bulldogs pay when he came through with a two-out, bases-loaded triple to deep right center field that cleared the bags, scoring Hite, Ryan McSorley, and Williams to extend the advantage to five after two and a half stanzas.
Starter Drew Harshbarger cruised through the early innings and didn't surrender a hit until the bottom of the fifth. Following that initial base knock, TLU used a couple of walks and infield singles to get on the board and cut the deficit to four through five frames.
The Bulldog bats came to life in the bottom of the seventh and put the pressure on thanks to three singles and a double that plated three runs but Tyler Jackson settled things down following his entrance to contest, ending the threat and stranding a pair of Texas Lutheran runners thanks to a two-out ground out.
The Lions responded in the top of the ninth and made TLU pay for another defensive miscue. Matt Parks reached on an error and a Matt Isaac sacrifice bunt moved him and Smith into scoring position two at-bats later. Maddux Ryan gave the Blue & White a little breathing room thanks to a sacrifice fly to left field that brought Parks across and pushed the lead to two.
With two away in the bottom half, Texas Lutheran threatened following back-to-back singles but Casey Winters ended the game with a diving stop on an Austin Colon ground ball that sealed the victory for Penn State Harrisburg.
NOTABLES
- The win was Penn State Harrisburg's second-ever NCAA Tournament victory. The Lions defeated Alvernia in NCAA Regional action in 2019.
- The victory was the second over a nationally-ranked team this spring for the Blue & White after knocking off No. 15 Shenandoah in mid-April.
- Bret Williams finished 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored.
- Chase Smith was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and three RBI.
- Dallas Hite went 3-for-5 and scored a pair of runs from the lead-off spot.
- Maddux Ryan drove in the game's final run with a sac fly and added a stolen base.
- Catcher Drew Bechtold threw out TLU's Tyler Cauley attempting to steal second to end the sixth frame.
- Drew Harshbarger got the start and improved to 7-0 on the season, going 6.2 innings striking out five.
- Tyler Jackson earned his second save of the year after allowing just two hits in the final 2.1 innings.
- Texas Lutheran starter Matthew Hickey took the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits and a pair of walks in just two innings thrown.
- With the win, Penn State Harrisburg improved to 29-7 on the season.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions face another tough test when they take on No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater, the regional host, in their second NCAA contest on Saturday, May 29. A start time for the game will be announced later tonight.
Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com