MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Lucas Floyd hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team a dramatic 9-7 come-from-behind victory over conference rival Penn State Abington on day two of the United East Championship Tournament on Friday afternoon.
Floyd finished 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, three RBI, and two runs scored. Tim Haftl went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Drew Bechtold and Brendan Henn each hit home runs. Josh Berzonski was gutsy in 7.2 innings of relief and Simeon Davis earned the win after throwing the final 1.1 innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State Harrisburg (32-10) overcame a rough start and chipped away at an early five-run deficit before Lucas Floyd played the hero by homering in each of his final two at-bats, including a two-run blast in the bottom of the 10th that walked it off and secured a spot for the Lions in Saturday's United East Championship.
Penn State Abington (19-20) struck first, using a pair of walks, a passed ball, and a pair of hits, including a Josh Baar two RBI double, to plate three runs in the top of the opening frame before the visitors added a solo run in each of the top of the second and fourth innings, respectively, to stretch their lead to five.
The hometown Lions finally got something going when Carlos Irizarry opened the bottom of the fourth with a ground rule double before Drew Bechtold smashed a two-run home run over the fence in left field to cut the deficit to three. After Josh Berzonski worked a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning, Brendan Henn rewarded him by hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the stanza. In the ensuing frame, Dallas HIte came through with a two-out RBI single that scored Irizarry for the second time and cut the Penn State Abington advantage to a lone run.
The methodical response continued in the bottom of the seventh when Irizarry drove in the game-tying run with a sacrifice fly to right field before Haftl came through with a clutch infield single to third base that scored Kevin Lehner and gave the top seed its first lead of the day. After Haftl turned a double play with Irizarry to erase a lead-off Penn State Abington double and end the top of the eighth, Floyd added an insurance run with a solo blast to begin the bottom half.
Down to their last out in the top of the ninth, Josh Baar came through for the visiting Lions with a two-run home run to straightaway center field. Simeon Davis spelled Berzonski and threw one and a third scoreless innings before Haftl opened the bottom of the 10th by singling to shortstop and stealing second base. With one away, Floyd played the hero by ripping the first pitch he got over the fence in left center field to but a bow on an another instant classic between to the two conference rivals and give Penn State Harrisburg a shot at a third straight United East title on Saturday morning.
NOTABLES
- Floyd finished 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, three RBI, and two runs scored.
- Haftl went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.
- Henn was 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an RBI, and a run scored.
- Bechtold's two-run home run was his first long ball of the season.
- Irizarry drove in a run and scored two more.
- Berzonski entered in the second and threw 7.2 innings of relief, allowing just three runs and striking out seven.
- Davis was stellar in his relief appearance, retiring all four batters he faced to earn the victory.
ELITE 14
Prior to Friday's outing, Penn State Harrisburg's Tom Westers was honored as the United East Baseball Elite 14 Award recipient for holding the highest cumulative GPA among the teams competing in the conference championship tournament. Westers holds a 4.0 as a senior Finance major.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions will have an opportunity to win the United East Championship when they face No. 2 seed Penn College on Saturday morning. First pitch is set for 10 a.m.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.