Newport News, VA. – Penn State Harrisburg Baseball won its first two CAC playoff matchups, knocking off Southern Virginia 12-11 and #5 ranked Christopher Newport 10-9. In game one against Southern Virginia the Lions scored 8 runs in the sixth innings thanks to four doubles from Bret Williams, Miguel Torres Chase Smith, and Ryan McSorely. The Lions bat would again carry them in game two where Williams would blast two solo home runs and drive in four RBI's. The Lions will face Christopher Newport tomorrow needing to win one of two possible games to clinch a berth in the CAC Championship series.
Penn State Harrisburg 12 vs. Southern Virginia 11
Penn State Harrisburg 10 vs. Christopher Newport 9
Records:
Penn State Harrisburg: 30-10 Overall
Southern Virginia: 18-18 Overall
Christopher Newport: 32-9 Overall
How it Happened:
The Lions took an early lead in game one against Southern Virginia, striking in the first inning. Bret Williams led off the inning by drawing a walk and Miguel Torres got hit by a pitch. Zachary Koroneos would then single to third base to load the bases. Chase Smith would get the Lions on the board with a double into the right center field gap, scoring Williams and Torres.
The Knights would settle in, stifling the Lions offense while using a string of hits in the fourth and fifth innings to rally and take a 5-2 advantage. The Lions would rally in the sixth inning where they run three different Southern Virginia pitchers out of the game. Justin O'Dell would drive in the first run, reaching on a throwing error by the pitcher. Tyler Aug would follow grounding out to the shortstop, but brining in the innings second run. Williams would then double to center field to plate a run. Alex Cline would single driving in Williams and Torres would double to bring in Cline. A Smith double, Chris Iocca single, and Ryan McSorley double would each add another run to the scoreboard. When the inning finally came to an end, the Lions had scored 8 runs on 8 hits making the score 10-5.
Torres would produce an RBI single in the seventh inning to bring the Lions advantage to 11-5. The Knights would not roll over, plating six runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 11. In the bottom of the inning the Lions would retake the lead. Iocca singled and after a McSorely, would be replaced by Matt Taylor at second base. Taylor would advance to third on an O'Dell sacrifice bunt and Aug would use a sacrifice fly to score him. This proved to be the game winning run as relief pitcher Justin Kaplan would get three quick outs to end the game.
In game two the Lions took on the #5 nationally ranked Captains of Christopher Newport. The Lions would strike first when Bret Williams crushed a solo home run to left field in the third inning. Later in the inning, Miguel Torres would single, putting a run on base for Zachary Koroneos. Koroneos blasted a home run to left center, putting the Lions ahead 3-0.
The Captains answered back scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Lions would continue hitting in the fourth inning. Justin O'Dell would single to left field and then steal second base. Williams would then come through for the Lions again, blasting his second home run of the game, this time over the right field fence.
After the Captains got a run back in the fourth inning, the Lions offense would take control of the game in the fifth inning. Torres would lead off the inning with a double down the left field line. Koroneos would ground out to second, driving in Torres. Chase Smith and Chris Iocca would keep the offense going recording back to back singles. Ryan McSorley would then single to left field to score Smith. Tyler Smink singled up the middle to score Ioccca. Williams would continue his hitting streak, this time with an RBI double to left center. In the sixth inning, Iocca would add an RBI single putting the Lions ahead 10-3.
Christopher Newport would not go away, scoring four runs in the eighth inning. The Captains would score two runs in the ninth inning to close within one. With two outs and a runner on third base, Brendan Riotto would force a fly out to right field to close out the victory.
Inside The Stats:
Game one:
Winning Pitcher: PSH- Justin Kaplan
Losing Pitcher: SVU- Matt Roll
Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (19) vs. Southern Virginia (14)
Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (2) vs. Southern Virginia (1)
Game two:
Winning Pitcher: PSH- Mark Artley
Losing Pitcher: CNU- Thomas Packert
Hits: Penn State Harrisburg (18) vs. Christopher Newport (15)
Errors: Penn State Harrisburg (1) vs. Christopher Newport (1)
Impact Performance:
Game 1:
Miguel Torres- 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Chase Smith- 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI
Chris Iocca- 3-4 RBI
Game 2:
Bret Williams- 4-5, 2 HR, 2B, 4 RBI's
Zachary Koroneos- 2-4, HR, 3 RBI's
What's Next:
The Blue and White will face Christopher Newport tomorrow, May 5th to see who wins Pod B and advances to the CAC Tournament Championship series. The Lions will have two opportunities to clinch Pod B. For more information, follow Penn State Harrisburg Baseball at:
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