Williams' Walk-Off Grand Slam Lifts Baseball Over Keystone

Williams' Walk-Off Grand Slam Lifts Baseball Over Keystone

Penn State Harrisburg 14, Keystone 11

 

Harrisburg Lineup

1. Torres 2b, 2. McSorley ss, 3. Williams lf, 4. Van Houten dh, 5. Smith cf, 6. Winters rf, 7. Koroneos 1b, 8. Aug c, 9. Struve 3b, Vogwill p

 

KC Lineup

1. Reed lf, 2. Panzarella ss, 3. McFadden p, 4. Carlini 2b, 5. Paniagua 3b, 6. Hussein cf, 7. Medina 1b, 8. Fichera rf, 9. Callahan c

 

How It Happened

And so, the legacy of Bret Williams continues to grow.

 

Exactly one week after becoming the program's all-time hits leader, Williams sealed Penn State Harrisburg's thrilling 14-11 victory over Keystone in non-conference action with a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday afternoon, April 9.

 

With the Lions (18-8-1) facing an 11-10 deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth, pinch hitter Matt Parks walked to being the half inning and put the tying run on base. Jackson Struve and Miguel Torres used back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases and Williams hammered the second pitch of his at-bat over the fence in left field to set off a frenzy at home plate and clinch the win for the home team.

 

The visiting Giants (8-9) used a three-run top of the seventh to pull ahead by one after the Blue & White had rallied by scoring five runs in the bottom of the previous stanza; a stretch that included Williams launching his first homer of the game, this one a three-run shot.

 

Penn State Harrisburg plated the game's first three runs before Keystone tallied seven consecutive runs across the third and fourth innings, respectively.

 

At the Plate

- It was Bret Williams' day, as the junior went 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, including the game-winning grand slam, a double and eight RBIs.

- Miguel Torres was 5-for-6 with two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs from the lead-off spot.

- Ryan McSorley, Travis Van Houten and Jackson Struve each had multi-hit outings.

- Both teams racked up six extra-base hits each.

 

On the Mound

- Mason Vogwill got the start for the Lions, allowing six runs on six hits in the game's first three innings.

- Brandon Riggs went three innings in a relief outing, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks.

- Tyler Jackson and Brad Richards made single-inning relief appearances.

- Kieran Kearns earned his first win after throwing the top of the ninth frame.

 

Around the Diamond

- Chase Smith and Casey Winters each stole a base for the Blue & White.

- The Giants stole just one base on the day.

- Keystone committed a pair of errors, while the Lions had one defensive miscue.

- Winters racked up five putouts in right field.

 

Who's Next?

The Lions return to Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) play when they travel to Mary Washington for a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon, April 12.

 

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