WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team split a conference doubleheader with United East foe Penn College at Bowman Field on Saturday evening, April 2. The Lions fell by the slimmest of margins in a pitcher's duel in the opener before bouncing back with a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.

GAME 1

Penn State Harrisburg (9-12, 6-1 United East) got a stellar outing from starting pitcher Drew Harshbarger but the Lions were unable to capitalize in a 2-1 loss to conference foe Penn College (10-9, 4-2 United East) on Saturday afternoon.

Harshbarger went 6.1 innings and struck out 13 batters while surrendering just one earned run on four hits. Unfortunately, the Lions were able to muster just four hits in the opener and struggled to support their hurler.

The Blue & White struck first when Sam Merchant's two-out single drove in Brendan Henn to make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors in the top of the second. 

From there, Harshbarger worked three straight 1-2-3 innings before the Wildcats finally did some damage in the bottom of the sixth, using two singles and a hit by pitch to tie things up. The Lions stranded a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh and the home team took advantage of a leadoff error to begin the bottom half before scoring an unearned run to seal the walk-off win.

GAME 2

Penn State Harrisburg (10-12, 7-1 United East) used a four-run seventh inning to erase a one-run deficit, win game two, and salvage a doubleheader split with conference foe Penn College (10-10, 4-3 United East) on Saturday night.

Chase Smith led the way at the plate, going 4-for-4 with an RBI, while Josh Lantz went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Matt Isaac also finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. On the mound, Zach Gettys earned the win, striking out 10 in seven innings thrown, while Kevin Maiolo recorded the save.

The Lions got on the board first in the top of the fifth when a Lantz single down the right field line drove in Isaac but the home team responded by scoring a pair in the bottom of the frame to pull ahead 2-1. 

The Blue & White reclaimed the advantage in the top of the seventh when Dallas Hite singled to score Isaac and Lantz. A Matt Parks groundout pushed Hite across and Smith fittingly put a cap on the scoring with an RBI single to right field that plated Kevin Lehner. 

Gettys and Danny Eden stranded a pair of Wildcats in the bottom of the seventh and eighth, respectively, before Maiolo shut the door in the ninth.

NOTABLES

- Drew Harshbarger was outstanding in game one, striking out 13 batters and allowing just one earned run on four hits in 6.1 innings of work.

- Brendan Henn was the lone Penn State Harrisburg to have a multi-hit game one, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.

- Chase Smith went a perfect 4-for-4 from the dish with an RBI in game two.

- Josh Lantz went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the nightcap. 

- Matt Isaac scored a game-high two runs in the second outing.

- Zach Gettys improved to 4-1 after earning the game-two win, striking out 10 and allowing just two runs on four hits in seven innings pitched.

- Kevin Maiolo struck out two of the three batters he faced to record the save in the nightcap.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions will wrap up their three-game series at Penn College on Monday afternoon, April 4.

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