MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - No. 14 Penn State Harrisburg captured the United East Volt Division Championship with a 10-2 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) on Monday afternoon, punching its ticket to the conference's championship series next weekend in the process.
Josh Berzonski was excellent in three innings of relief, striking out seven and allowing just one hit, while Blaine Waltimyer went 3-for-3 at the plate with two walks, two RBI, and a pair of runs scored.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions (34-7) turned a tightly-contested matchup into a one-sided affair in the final frames, thanks to seven combined runs across the seventh and eighth innings.
With his team clinging to a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the seventh, Bill Zentmayer came through with a two-out, bases-loaded single that drove in Kevin Lehner and Demetre Koutras III to give the Volt Division Tournament's top seed some breathing room. Brendan Henn followed it up with an RBI single of his own and the home team tacked on one more on a double steal that forced an error and allowed Ryan Barthlow to come across.
Berzonski overpowered the fourth-seeded Seahawks (12-20) in the top of the eighth, striking out the side and allowing his offense to pick up where it left off the stanza prior. Penn State Harrisburg did more damage with two outs, this time on a Drew Bechtold RBI single through the left side that plated Lehner and Carlos Irizarry before a Tim Haftl RBI groundout drove in Waltimyer to stretch the advantage to eight runs.
Caiden Ertter spelled Berzonski and finished things off in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to center field to end the ballgame.
The Lions struck first in the bottom of the first frame when a double steal saw Drew Sassaman come across on a throwing error. Waltimyer worked a bases-loaded walk later in the stanza to make it 2-0 after one. St. Mary's eventually pulled even thanks to a single run in the second and another in the top of the fifth but Penn State Harrisburg reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a Waltimyer single to right field that scored Lehner and never surrendered the advantage.
NOTABLES
- With the victory, Penn State Harrisburg matched the single-season program record for wins (34).
- Berzonski threw three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts.
- Christian Lubic II earned the win after going five innings and allowing just two runs on five hits.
- Waltimyer finished 3-for-3 with two walks, a pair of RBI, and two runs scored.
- Sassaman also had a multi-hit day and stole a pair of bases.
- Lehner scored a game-high three runs, while Zentmayer and Bechtold drove in two apiece.
- As a group, the Lions worked 10 walks on the day.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions will travel to Keystone to face the Giants in the opening contest of the three-game United East Championship Series beginning on Friday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.