NCAA Division III Tournament Regional Round – Game 2

Penn State Harrisburg 13, Alvernia 12

Harrisburg Lineup

1. Torres 2b, 2. Smith cf, 3. Williams lf, 4. Van Houten 3b, 5. Winter rf, 6. McSorley ss, 7. Koroneos 1b, 8. Aug c, 9. Ell dh, De Leon p

AU Lineup

1. Shaffer cf, 2. Cirilli 2b, 3. Sides ss, 4. Briner 1b, 5. Nutile dh, 6. Salesky c, 7. Breighner 3b, 8. Blankenbiller lf, 9. Ginder rf, Marotta p

How It Happened

Penn State Harrisburg picked up its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory after holding off a late rally by Alvernia and securing a 13-12 win in the team's second game of regional round action at SUNY Cortland's Robert H. Wallace Field on Saturday afternoon, May 18.

Bret Williams led the way at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and three runs batted in, Travis Van Houten, Casey Winters and Zachary Koroneos drove in two runs apiece. Van Houten and Koroneos each homered and starter Michael De Leon earned the win on the bump.

The Golden Wolves (28-16-2) scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first but the Lions (33-14-1) took control of the contest in the middle innings, racking up 10 runs across the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames. The third saw a Winters' double score Williams and Chase Smith, a Ryan McSorley single drive in Van Houten and a Koroneos ground ball plate Winters.

After a Smith single pushed Tucker Ell across in the fourth, Williams broke it open with a two-run home run. Koroneos followed it up with a solo shot in the fifth to push the lead to 8-2 and the Blue & White offense wasn't finished. The sixth saw Miguel Torres come across on a bunt by Smith and Williams tacked on another run when his double to center field brought Smith around to score.

Alvernia made a push when Mike Cirilli's sixth-inning grand slam cut the deficit to 10-8 and a solo home run from Alex Salesky brought the Golden Wolves to within one after seven stanzas.

Van Houten answered with a two-run homer in the top of the ensuing frame and Winters added on an insurance run after Koroneos put a ball in play.

AU made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases before the Lions recorded an out. Eventually, the Golden Wolves brought three across to make it a one-run game with the tying-run on first base but reliever Brendan Riotto struck out Nathan Sides to end the game and eliminate Alvernia from regional play.

At the Plate

- Bret Williams had a great outing, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and a pair of walks.

- Travis Van Houten went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.

- Ryan McSorley was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, while Tyler Aug also had a multi-hit game.

- Casey Winters scored two runs and drove in two more, while Chase Smith scored three times.

On the Mound

- Starter Michael De Leon got the win after throwing five innings. He surrendered seven runs on eight hits and four walks.

- Tyler Jackson made his second relief appearance in as many days, throwing two innings and allowing two runs. He also recorded three strikeouts.

- Brendan Riotto closed things out, allowing three runs in two innings and striking out two batters.

- Starter Nicholas Marotta took the loss for Alvernia after giving up six earned runs on eight hits and four walks in five innings of work.

Around the Diamond

- The victory was Penn State Harrisburg's first-ever in NCAA Tournament competition.

- The Golden Wolves committed three errors, leading to four unearned runs.

- Catcher Tyler Aug threw out AU's Gavin Blankenbiller attempting to steal.

- Second baseman Miguel Torres had six putouts and assisted on two more.

NCAA Division III Tournament Regional Round – Game 3

Tufts 7, Penn State Harrisburg 4

Harrisburg Lineup

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

Tufts Lineup

1. Varinos 2b, 2. Santos-Ocampo lf, 3. DeMaria 1b, 4. Cortese dh, 5. Knight 3b, 6. Bay rf, 7. Mills cf, 8. Schnepf c, 9. Shackelford ss, Greeley p

How It Happened

Penn State Harrisburg's historic 2019 campaign came to an end with a 7-4 loss to Tufts in the team's third game of NCAA Tournament Regional action at SUNY Cortland's Robert H. Wallace Field on Saturday afternoon, May 18.

Travis Van Houten and Casey Winters accounted for four of the team's six hits, while Chase Smith's double was the squad's lone extra-base knock. For the second time in as many days, the Jumbos (31-10) held the Lions (33-15-1) well below their season-long scoring average of more than nine runs per game.

After Tufts got on the board first, Bret Williams tied things up with an RBI groundout that scored Chase Smith in the top of the fourth inning.

The Blue & White faced a larger hole when the Jumbos scored two runs each in the fifth and sixth frames but the top of the seventh saw Penn State Harrisburg cut the deficit to just one thanks to a Williams single that plated Smith and Miguel Torres and a Winters single that brought Williams across.

The Jumbos responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame, however, and the Lions would manage just one baserunner in the final two innings.

At the Plate

- Bret Williams drove in three runs, scored once and worked one walk.

- Travis Van Houten and Casey Winters each had multi-hit games.

- Winters drove in a run, while Chase Smith scored a pair.

- Smith's double was the team's only extra-base hit.

On the Mound

- Zach Gettys got the start and went five innings for the Lions, allowing three earned runs on six hits to go along with four strikeouts.

- Kieran Kearns and Mason Vogwill combined to throw the final three innings for the Blue & White.

- Brent Greeley got the start and the win for Tufts. He surrendered one earned run on five hits and three walks in 6.1 innings thrown.

- Michael Volgende earned the save for the Jumbos after not allowing a hit in the final 2.1 innings.

Around the Diamond

- The Lions finish the season with a program-record 33 wins.

- Tufts committed five errors, leading to three unearned runs.

- The Lions committed a pair of errors that led to two unearned runs.

- Chase Smith had four putouts and assisted on another in center field.

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