ROME, N.Y. (APRIL 30, 2011) - The Penn State Berks baseball team downed No. 1 seed SUNYIT 8-6 in the opening round and then defeated Gallaudet 8-2 to advance to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship game tomorrow at 1 p.m.
The Nittany Lions will face No. 2 seed Penn State Abington. Regardless of if Berks wins or loses, they will advance to play the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Champion next weekend, since Abington is still in its provisional stages.
In the win over SUNYIT, the Lions got two runs from each of the top three players in the lineup. Aaron Wilkins walked three times and had two stolen bases, while Geraldo Garcia added two singles, two stolen bases and an RBI. Kyle Hartman also recorded two singles.
Bryer Eshbach pitched 3 2/3 innings of solid relief to pick up the win. Eshbach allowed just one run on three hits with four strikeouts. Rich Schlamowitz threw a perfect ninth inning to earn the save.
In the second game, Berks recorded one or two runs in each of the final six innings.
Freshman Ryan Tantala threw his second complete game of the season. The right hander allowed 12 hits, but still managed to keep the Bison to just two runs. He struck out five batters.
Nick Vitelli went 4 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored. Garcia chipped in three hits and two RBI, while Schlamowitz went 2 for 4 with two RBI. Right fielder Connor Corson recorded two hits and two RBI.
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