MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Thanks to strong pitching and stellar defense, Penn State Harrisburg's baseball team opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep of United East foe St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday afternoon, March 16. The Lions held off a late charge to take the opener 4-2 before winning a pitcher's duel 4-0 in the nightcap.
GAME 1
Top-notch defense was on full display for Penn State Harrisburg (8-5) in the team's 4-2 victory over the Seahawks (2-7) in Saturday's first outing. Starter Fisher Druck also turned in a strong start to lead the way before Josh Berzonski closed things out.
The Lions put up all their scoring in the first two innings, beginning with a Kevin Lehner RBI single that plated Drew Sassaman from second base. The second frame saw the game's only crooked number posted as the home team used three hits and three balks to tack on three more runs, capped by another RBI single from Lehner that scored Sassaman.
The infield flashed some leather by turning inning-ending double plays in the second, third, and fifth stanzas but St. Mary's finally got on the board with a pair of solo home runs in the top of the sixth. Berzonski was called upon to wrap things up and he did just that in the seventh, shaking off an error and tallying three strikeouts to earn his first save of the season.
GAME 2
The Lions (9-5) used a sterling outing from starter Kyle Mahady to complete the doubleheader sweep of St. Mary's (2-8) with a 4-0 shutout win in the second outing on Saturday afternoon.
For the second straight game, Penn State Harrisburg struck first with one run in the first. After a pair of hit-by-pitches and a passed ball, Kevin Lehner drove in Drew Sassaman with a sac fly to center field to get the scoring started.
Runs remained hard to come by in the middle innings, with neither team crossing the plate again until the bottom of the sixth when Carlos Irizarry pushed Sassman across with another sacrifice fly. While his offense built a narrow lead, Mahady shined, recording three 1-2-3 innings that included striking out the side in the seventh and 10 strikeouts overall.
Lehner came through again in the eighth when he singled to left field and drove in Sassaman and Coy Schwanger, providing some much-needed insurance heading into the final frame. After Josh Berzonski struck out the side in the top of the eighth, fellow Sam Thompson finished things out in the ninth to seal the doubleheader sweep.
NOTABLES
- Druck improved to 2-0 on the season after allowing just two runs on four hits and three walks in six innings thrown to go along with five strikeouts in the opener.
- Berzonski secured his first save in game one, tallying three strikeouts without surrendering a hit or walk.
- Lehner was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base in the first contest.
- Sassaman, Brendan Henn, Irizarry, and Tim Haftl combined to turn three double plays in the first outing.
- Mahady was excellent in game two, striking out 10 in seven scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season.
- Mahady and Berzonski combined to strike out seven consecutive batters across three innings in the nightcap.
- Lehner finished 1-for-2 with three RBI in the second contest.
- Sassaman went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and a walk in the nightcap.
- Henn also had a multi-hit second outing.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions wrap up their weekend series with St. Mary's (Md.) with a single game on Sunday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
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