VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team completed its opening weekend by sweeping a pair of games on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 25. The Lions held off SUNY New Paltz for a 10-9 victory in the opener before defeating Virginia Wesleyan 7-3 in the final outing of the weekend.
GAME 1
Leading 8-2 midway through the day's first contest, Penn State Harrisburg (2-1) saw its lead evaporate when SUNY New Paltz (1-2) rallied with two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, along with three more in the eighth.
Entering the top of the ninth frame with the scored tied 9-9, the Lions got things started when Carlos Irizarry doubled down the left field line before Julian Belardo moved him to third with a bunt single. Drew Sassaman came through with a sacrifice fly to center field that plated Irizarry and put Penn State Harrisburg back on top.
Reliever Dylan Sattazahn came out for his second half inning of work in the bottom of the ninth and made quick work of the New Paltz hitters, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing a fly out to left field and recording his second strikeout of the stanza to end the game.
The Lions did most of their damage in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, respectively, bookending a pair of three-run frames with a two-run top of the fourth. Christian Lubic II got the start on the bump and racked up eight strikeouts, allowing just two runs in five innings thrown.
GAME 2
Kevin Lehner provided the power Penn State Harrisburg (3-1) needed to pull away from Virginia Wesleyan (4-5) and four pitchers combined to allow just two earned runs in Sunday's nightcap victory.
With the Marlins holding a 2-1 advantage in the top of the sixth inning, Lehner put up the game's lone crooked number with just one swing - a grand slam home run that brought Belardo, Sassanian, and Henn around with him to put the visitors ahead 5-2 in the blink of an eye.
The Lions tacked on another in the seventh when Coy Schwanger plated on a balk before adding an insurance run when Dallas Hite's RBI single through the left side drove in Sassanian in the eighth. Virginia Wesleyan got one back in the bottom of the ninth but it proved far too little too late.
Sattazahn's impressive day on the mound continued when after wrapping up the final frames of the opener, he got the start against the Marlins and allowed no hits in two innings of work. Aidan Bergholc earned the win after three innings thrown, Joel Sneeringer struck out a pair and surrendered just one hit in three stanzas, and Dallas Gilbert wrapped it up in the bottom of the ninth.
NOTABLES
- Lehner homered in each game and racked up eight total RBI on the day.
- Henn went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI, and two runs scored in the opener.
- Sassaman scored four runs across the pair of contests.
- Hite had a multi-hit outing against Virginia Wesleyan.
- Lubic tallied eight strikeouts in five innings thrown in the first outing.
- Sneeringer was stout in relief in the nightcap, allowing one hit, no runs, and no walks in three innings of work.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to Arcadia for doubleheader action to begin a three-game weekend series on Saturday, March 2.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.