ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – After making a late charge against Elizabethtown on Tuesday afternoon, Apr. 22, Mother Nature played spoiler and kept Penn State Harrisburg from finishing the team's push against the hometown Blue Jays. Wind, rain and lightning ended the game after seven innings of play and the Lions were sent home with an 8-4 defeat.
Sophomore Bryan Balshy (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra Area) went 1-2 with a double, two RBIs and a walk while fellow sophomore Garrett McCutcheon (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) was 2-3. Sophomore Eric Hoover (Hershey, Pa. / Hershey) was 1-3 with a double and drove in two runs.
The Lions fell behind early when Elizabethtown put up three runs in the first, one in the second and four more in the third inning.
The visitors cut into that early deficit in the top of the third stanza when Hoover's sacrifice fly to center field scored McCutcheon from third base. Hoover drove in another run in the sixth inning when his double to left center field plated junior Jim Murphy (Drexel Hill, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner). Balshy drew the Blue & White to within 8-4 when his double to right field scored senior Travis Crammer (Cerritos, Calif. / Cerritos) and freshman Troy Taber (Park Ridge, N.J. / Park Ridge).
Unfortunately, the Blue & White rally was cut short as the sky darkened, the wind picked up and the rain came. The game was postponed briefly before the start of the eighth inning but moments later a lightning strike ended any chance of the contest being restarted.
Taber, the Lions' starter, went 2.0 innings on the mound and allowed six hits and five earned runs. Reliever Tom Chaney (Lancaster, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg) had one of his best outings of the season as he threw 5.0 innings and allowed just five hits and one earned run in addition to striking out three Blue Jays.
Penn State Harrisburg's 2014 campaign is winding down and the team's home finale takes place this Wednesday, Apr. 23 when the Lions host Messiah in a single game non-conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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