Throughout the baseball season the CAC proved why they are looked upon as one of the best if not the best conference in division III for baseball. The CAC had four teams ranked in the top 25 through the year including two teams in the top ten during the course of the year. The Lions beat every team in the CAC at least once throughout the course of the year including all four teams ranked in the top 25: Frostburg State, Salisbury, Christopher Newport, and Mary Washington.
Below are the four game recaps for each of the games against the Ranked Opponents.
#8 Frostburg State:
The visitor's wasted no time in the first game getting on the scoreboard as they brought home eight runs in the first four innings. The Lion's found their stride in the seventh inning with two back to back singles followed by three runs off consecutive walks making the score 6-10. Harrisburg added two more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth but fell in the end 15-9. Tyler Johnston (Frenchtown, N.J. / Del Val Regional) helped the Lions slow down the Bobcat high powered offense pitching 3 and 2/3 innings
allowing five hits and striking out three. Mark Artley (Milton, Pa. / Milton Area) dominated on the mound at pitcher for the remainder of the game as Harrisburg went on to win 4-3. Artley pitched all nine innings, with 12 strike outs and only seven hits.
#18 Mary Washington:
Kevin Kremer (Hershey, Pa. / Hershey) put the Lion's on the board first after reaching first base on an error by the short stop, earning an RBI as Blake Reiff(Manheim, Pa. / Manheim Central) scored. In the bottom of the third, Connor Bowers (Mount Joy, Pa. / Donegal) singled, allowing Reiff to score once again. Harrisburg extended their lead to 3-0 thanks to a sacrifice fly from Reiff. In the top of the eighth, Mary Washington scored four straight to take the lead. UMW added a run in the ninth off of a single, leading the Lion's 5-3. Harrisburg would go on to score twice in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run homer by Ethan Kell (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area) to tie to the score at 5-5 and send the game to extra innings. In the 11th inning, Harrisburg sealed their victory with an unearned run as Kell reached first on an error and Jackson Struve (Bel Air, Md. / Bel Air) scored. Brendan Riotto (Exton, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) took home the win for the Lion's at pitcher, giving up only one run and three hits.
#16 Christopher Newport:
Travis VanHouten gave the Lion's their first run of the game, reaching first base on an error by the Captains, as Connor Bowers advanced to home plate. Freshman Ethan Kell grabbed the second run off of a wild pitch by the Captains. In the 5th, Harrisburg tacked on one more run with a bases loaded walk from Kell. In the second matchup, Harrisburg kept the visitors scoreless thanks to a great game on the mound from Mark Artley. Artley gave up only four hits and struck out 12 batters.
#11 Salisbury:
The visitors grabbed an early lead in the first inning after two back to back walks. The Lion's got on the board at the top of the second as Connor Bowers and Scott Angstadt Jr. each hit their first single of the afternoon. The Seagulls came out strong in the third as they brought home five straight runs to lead Harrisburg 10-4. Freshman David Klein grabbed 2 RBI's in the sixth as he hit his first home run of the season. Heading into the final inning, the Lion's trailed 13-8. Harrisburg had an explosive final inning, bringing home seven runs to grab the win. Will Quiles and Ethann Kell each singled and brought in an RBI a piece to add two runs to the board. Travis VanHouten grounded out to third base, advancing Quiles to home plate. Bowers and Angstadt finished the game for the Lions with a double to left field. Michael Balshy brought home his second win of the season at pitcher, giving up only one run and two hits.