MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team nearly pulled off the Sunday sweep of No. 16 Arcadia before mother nature halted game two of a doubleheader due to darkness. The Lions defeated the Knights 14-8 in the team's home opener on Sunday afternoon before a lack of daylight caused the nightcap to be stopped with Penn State Harrisburg leading 13-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. The finale will be completed on Monday at Arcadia before the final contest of the three-game series.

GAME 1

Penn State Harrisburg (4-1) jumped all over No. 16 Arcadia en route to a 14-8 victory in the opening contest of Sunday's doubleheader. Maddux Ryan went 3-for-3 with five RBI, Kevin Lehner doubled and drove in four runs, and Drew Sassaman had three hits, including a double, with three RBI. On the mound, Danny Eden got the win and Josh Berzonski struck out six in relief to earn the save.

After Eden worked a scoreless top of the first, the Lions used three hits, including a Lehner 3-RBI double, two walks, and a hit by pitch to jump out to a 4-0 lead after one. Eden retired the Knights in order in the second before Ryan drove in a pair and Brendan Henn stole home to push the advantage to 7-0 in the bottom half.

Arcadia got on the board with a single run in the third but the Lions got it back in the bottom half thanks a Lucas Floyd sacrifice fly. The visitors added another in the top of the fourth but Lehner and Sassaman combined to drive in three more and make it 11-2 heading into the fifth.

After a Ryan 2-RBI single tacked on two more, the Knights made a push and plated four runs in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 13-6 but the home team responded when Ryan drove in Parks in the seventh. The visitors used a 2-run home run to pull to within six after eight but Berzonski finished it off with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Penn State Harrisburg used a combination of late-game hitting and timely defense to pull ahead of No. 16 Arcadia 13-6 in the second contest of a doubleheader on Sunday evening before the game was halted due to darkness in the middle of the eighth inning. It will be completed on Monday at Arcadia. Lucas Floyd went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and five RBI, while Brendan Henn tripled and drove in five runs. Carlos Irizarry added a 3-run home run.

The Knights took an early lead thanks to Alex Madera's lead off home run in the top of the first but Floyd cleared the bases with a 3-RBI double in the bottom of the second to give the Lions a 3-1 advantage after two. Arcadia pulled even in the top of the fourth but Henn came through with a two-out, bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the fifth to put Penn State Harrisburg back out in front.

The visitors had a chance to make some noise in the seventh when they loaded the bases with one away and plated one run on a hit by pitch. The defense answered with a play at the plate when a Knight broke for home from third base on a loose ball before second baseman Drew Sassaman made a pretty play on the ensuing ground ball and beat the runner with an accurate throw to end the threat and the inning.

The bats took over for the Lions in the bottom of the seventh, with Henn and Floyd driving in two more runs apiece before Irizarry roped a 3-run blast over the left field fence to blow it open and cap off a 7-run frame.

Arcadia took advantage of an error in the eighth to score a pair of runs and cut it to 13-6 heading into the bottom of the stanza. That's when the decision was made to halt the contest due to darkness and finish things up on Monday at Arcadia before the final outing of this weekend's 3-game series.

NOTABLES

- Ryan went a combined 6-for-6 with two walks, five RBI, and five runs scored across two games.

- Sassaman was 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, and three RBI in the opener.

- Lehner and Dallas Hite had multi-hit first games.

- Eden earned the win in game one, throwing five innings and allowing no earned run on two hits to go along with six strikeouts.

- Berzonski secure the save in the first contest, throwing the final four innings and striking out six batters.

- Floyd went 3-for-4 with two doubles, five RBI, and a run scored in the second outing.

- Henn finished 2-for-4 with a triple, five RBI, and a pair of runs scored in game two.

- Irizarry's 3-run home run in the nightcap was his second of the young season.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions will finish up their 3-game series with No. 16 Arcadia on the road on Monday, March 6.

STAY CONNECTED

Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.