Baseball Seniors 2017
3
Wells WELM 10-16, 1-6 NEAC
4
Winner Penn State Berks PSBM 12-15, 6-3 NEAC
Wells WELM
10-16, 1-6 NEAC
3
Final
4
Penn State Berks PSBM
12-15, 6-3 NEAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wells WELM 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 9 3
Penn State Berks PSBM 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 5 5

W: Reis, Zach (2-3) L: Zach Kemp (3-3)

9
Wells WELM 10-17, 1-7 NEAC
16
Winner Penn State Berks PSBM 13-15, 7-3 NEAC
Wells WELM
10-17, 1-7 NEAC
9
Final
16
Penn State Berks PSBM
13-15, 7-3 NEAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Wells WELM 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 9 9 1
Penn State Berks PSBM 2 2 5 4 0 0 3 0 X 16 18 3

W: Varner, Steven (3-3) L: Brandon Shirley (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball picks up crucial sweep of Wells on Senior Day

READING, PA - The Penn State Berks baseball team earned a dramatic, walk-off victory after a bases clearing double by Cory Fox to win 4-3 over Wells College in the first game. The Nittany Lions offense came to life in a 16-9 victory in game two as Berks earned the sweep in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Hintz Athletic Field.

The Nittany Lions improve to 13-15 on the season and 7-3 in the NEAC, while the Express drop to 10-17 overall and 1-7 in the conference. Prior to the start of game one, the Nittany Lions honored Dylan Gallagher, Matt Korea, John McGarvey, Zach Reis, Mitch Renninger, Troy Salerno, Ryan Tenney, and Steven Varner with Senior Day festivities.

In the opener, Berks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Fox led off the game with a walk and moved up to second base with a stolen base. He then came around to score when a sharp grounder by Dalton Hughes was mishandled. But the offense was held at bay by starting pitcher Zach Kemp over the next few innings and the Nittany Lions found themselves trailing by two after a three run fifth inning by the Express.

Down to their final at-bats, Brandon Griesemer got the offense going when he smoked a grounder through the left side of the infield. Damian Mace reached base on a fielder's choice, but pinch runner Austin Madeja was forced out at second base to bring Berks to its final remaining out. Pearce Harhigh reached base on an error and Salerno was plunked by a pitch to load of the bases and keep the Nittany Lions hopes alive. With the count even at 1-1, Fox laced a line drive to the outfield that was just out of the reach of the center fielder and cleared the bases without drawing a throw at the plate. The players stormed the field and huddled around Fox to celebrate his late game heroics.

Thanks to the walk-off victory the solid pitching effort by Reis was not wasted. The lead off batter reached base for Wells in each of the first four innings, but the Reis worked out jams in each of those innings to keep them off the scoreboard. He forced double plays in each of the first two innings and stranded runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Reis retired the first batter but three hits and two Berks errors led to the Express scratching out three runs. Wells got the leadoff batter aboard in the sixth, but Reis got out of it with Toby Welk throwing out the batter at first and Griesemer throwing out the runner trying to advance from second to third base. In the top of the seventh, Reis picked off the runner on first base for the final out of the inning to give the Nittany Lions a little spark going into their final at bat.

Reis threw all 7.0 innings, scattering nine hits and allowing three runs (zero earned), with a season-high four strikeouts.

In the second game, the Nittany Lions put up two runs in each of the first two frames, followed by five in the third inning, and four in the fourth to build an early 13-2 lead. The Express got back into the game with four runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, but Berks took back control with a 3-run line drive home run by Welk over the fence in left field.

Welk went a double short of the cycle in game two, as he finished 4-for-4 with a triple, home run, six RBI, and two runs scored. Welk notched four hits in a single-game for the fifth time in his career, and fourth time this season. The six RBI are the second most he has ever had in one game, trailing the school record he set with 10 in a game last season. Welk currently leads the NEAC with 46 hits on the season, while ranking second in the conference in doubles (11), triples (3), RBI (30), and slugging percentage (.673).

McGarvey had a career-day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Tyler Comport went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Hughes finished 2-for-2 with a double, two stolen bases, four RBI, three runs scored, and three walks. Salerno was 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored, while Madeja and Fox were both 1-for-3 with two runs scored.

Varner picked up the win on the mound for Berks after matching his longest outing of the season with 6.0 innings thrown. He recorded a strikeout of the first five outs of the game, including a strikeout looking on the first four batters that he faced. Varner finished the game with seven strikeouts, one shy of his career-high.

Griesemer threw 2.0 innings of relief, allowing one hit and one unearned run, while striking out two batters. Renninger recorded all three outs via strike out in the top of the ninth to secure the victory.

The Nittany Lions will host Neumann University in a non-conference contest on Tuesday, April 25 at 3:30 p.m.
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