LIVE VIDEO | TOURNAMENT PROGRAM
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Thanks to capturing the program's second straight regular-season conference title, Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team secured the top seed in the upcoming United East Baseball Championship Tournament and will host the three-day event early next week.
The Lions (26-14, 19-2 United East) shook off a slow start to the 2022 campaign and are currently riding a 16-game win streak that includes last week's road victory over No. 21 Shenandoah. Penn State Harrisburg also claimed a road win over the defending national champions from Salisbury earlier this season. As a group, the team ranks fifth in the nation in walks (241), 12th in strikeouts per nine (10.4), 20th in stolen bases (103), 22nd in home runs (44), and 23rd in runs scored (347). Zach Gettys was recently named the United East Pitcher of the Year, while a league-leading seven Penn State Harrisburg players earned all-conference honors. Gettys (82) and fellow hurler Drew Harshbarger (81) both rank top-25 in the country in strikeouts, while Matt Parks ranks fourth in Division III with 40 walks and 29th with 11 home runs.
Behind the Blue & White's success in the regular season, the road to the United East Championship will run through Middletown for the second season in a row. Penn State Harrisburg is joined by No. 2 Penn State Abington, No. 3 Lancaster Bible, and No. 4 Penn College as teams competing for the conference title.
Penn State Abington (31-9, 17-4 United East) is led by United East Player of the Year and frontrunner for national player of the year Ryan McCarty. The senior leads the country in batting average (.552), on-base percentage (.616), and slugging percentage (1.209), as well as home runs (27), hits (95), RBI (85), and runs scored (85). Freshman Chase Swain was named the conference's rookie of the year, while David Miller was voted the United East Coach of the Year by his peers. As a team, Penn State Abington leads Division III in nearly every major offensive statistical category, including hits (536), home runs (77), on-base percentage (.479), slugging percentage (.623), runs scored (508), walks (273), and doubles (128).
Lancaster Bible (18-19, 13-8 United East) made the jump to the three seed on the regular season's final weekend by sweeping a three-game series against Wells. Led by all-conference first-team selections Blake Greenly and Brian Coburn, as well as second-teamer Jaden Pinkney, the Chargers are among the country's best when it comes to swiping bases, ranking fourth, nationally, with 125 stolen bags this spring. Pinkney ranks 13th in Division III with 17 doubles, while Greenly's 105 total bases rank him 33rd.
Penn College (20-16, 13-8 United East) has proven one of the conference's better squads on the mound this season. As a unit, the Wildcats rank 15th in the country with five shutouts and 31st in hits allowed per nine innings (8.5) this spring. Jacob Carles was recently named to the United East All-Conference First Team, while Cameron Dick, Shane Price, and Samuel Zeigler all picked up second-team all-conference recognition.
Admission to all games is free to all fans. On game day, fans can park in the lots near the athletic fields free of charge. Fans should be prepared to walk to the baseball field from various lots on campus.
Barring hazardous weather, all tournament games will be live streamed at athletics.hbg.psu.edu/live. Fans can also follow the action via live stats.
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using the handle @pshbgathletics.
2022 United East Baseball Championship Tournament
Monday, May 9
Game 1: No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg vs. No. 4 Penn College - 12 p.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Game 2: No. 2 Penn State Abington vs. No. 3 Lancaster Bible - 3 p.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Tuesday, May 10
Game 3: No. 4 Penn College vs. No. 3 Lancaster Bible - 9 a.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Game 4: No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg vs. No. 2 Penn State Abington - 12 p.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Game 5: No. 4 Penn College vs. No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg - 3 p.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Wednesday, May 11
Game 6: No. 2 Penn State Abington vs. No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg - 10 a.m. (Video | Live Stats)
Game 7 (If Nec.): Following the conclusion of Game 6 (Video | Live Stats)