GLASSBORO, N.J. - Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team was edged by No. 7 Rowan 12-10 in a game that was cut short due to darkness following eight innings on Wednesday afternoon, March 30.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State Harrisburg (9-11) dropped a closely-contested slugfest at No. 7 Rowan (12-4) on Wednesday afternoon. Brendan Henn led the way at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI, and a run scored.

The Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when a Chase Smith double drove in Kevin Lehner and a Henn single plated Matt Parks. The hometown Profs wasted little time erasing the deficit in the bottom of the frame, however, and used a pair of hit by pitches, a walk, a wild pitch, and three hits, including a three-run home run and a double, to pull ahead.

The Blue & White began to chip away in the third when a Maddux Ryan single pushed Julian Belardo across and a Parks RBI groundout drove in Smith. The visitors continued to battle back in the fifth, with a Henn RBI single cutting the deficit to one before Dallas Hite's two-out, two-RBI single reclaimed the lead for Penn State Harrisburg.

But as they had in the opening stanza, the Profs answered back in the bottom of the fifth, turning four hits, including a three-run long ball, and an error into four more runs to retake the lead at 10-7. 

After Rowan tacked on another run in the sixth, Parks cut the deficit to three thanks to a double that scored Brendan Henn from first base in the top of the seventh. The rally continued in the eighth, with a Smith sacrifice fly plating Lehner and a Henn double pushing Belardo across to cut it to 11-10.

The Profs got one back in the bottom of the eighth before Nick Fitzgerald entered in relief and worked out of a bases-loaded jam but the Lions were denied one last chance at the comeback when the game was called early due to darkness.

NOTABLES

- Brendan Henn led the way at the dish, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI, and a run scored.

- Dallas Hite and Chase Smith each drove in two runs.

- Smith and Matt Parks added a double apiece. 

- Relievers Tyler Stanley and Kevin Maiolo struck out two batters each. 

- Rowan is the third nationally-ranked opponent the Lions faced this spring along with Johns Hopkins and Salisbury.

WHO'S NEXT? 

The Lions will look to bounce back when they travel to Penn College for the first outing of a three-game conference series on Friday afternoon, April 1. 

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