Middletown Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg Baseball hosted St. Johns Fisher for their home opener on Saturday March 17, 2018. The Cardinals started their season splitting with the #8 ranked John Hopkins while Harrisburg came into the game today on a six game win streak. The Lions found themselves in multiple positions with runners on the base in game one, but a quality team defensive effort help to keep St. Johns off the board through the first five innings of play. Harrisburg added some timely runs on way to an 8-3 win in the opener.
Game one:
Penn State Harrisburg 8 vs. St. Johns Fisher 3
Game two:
St. Johns Fisher 7 vs. Penn State Harrisburg 4
Records:
Penn State Harrisburg: 10-4 Overall
St. Johns Fisher: 5-7 Overall
How it Happened:
The Nittany Lions had to fight off base runners throughout the first half of game one. In the first inning, the Cardinals put themselves in great position loading the based with no outs. Fortunately, Harrisburg played key moments well and a quality defensive effort allowed them to hold St. Johns off the scoreboard through the first five innings.
Harrisburg took advantage of home runs from Ryan McSorley and Casey Winters to take a 3-0 lead after the third inning. When the Cardinals scored their first run in the sixth inning, the Blue and White responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning. Ahead by a score of 8-1, the visitors pulled two runs in the seventh, but the Lions held them scoreless in the final two innings to claim the 8-3 win.
In game two, Harrisburg took a one run lead in the first inning, but St. Johns Fisher responded in the second with three runs. Showing the balance between the two squads, Harrisburg tied the game up in the fourth thanks to a Miguel Torres triple that scored one, followed by a base hit that brought him home.
The Cardinals scored one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to regain the momentum. Harrisburg scored one in the eighth, but the additional score the visitors produced in the top of the ninth proved enough to hold off the Lions in game two. St. Johns Fisher evened the series on the day with a 7-4 win in game two.
Inside The Stats:
Game one:
Winning Pitcher: PSH – Michael De Leon (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: SJF – Rj Kuruts (1-1)
Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (10) vs. St. Johns Fisher (8)
Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (1) vs. St. Johns Fisher (0)
Game two:
Winning Pitcher: SJF – Tim Geissel (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: PSH – Mark Artley (2-1)
Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (7) vs. St. Johns Fisher (10)
Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (1) vs. St. Johns Fisher (0)
Impact Performance:
Michael De Leon – 5.0 IP, 4 Hits, 0 Runs, 4 K
Casey Winters – 4-6, 1 RBIs, 3 Runs, 1 HR
What's Next:
The Blue and White will travel to Elizabethtown College to play a local non-conference rivalry game on Sunday March 18th.
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