READING, Pa. — In a dramatic showdown on Wednesday, Penn State Berks and Albright College battled to a 13-13 stalemate. The game wrapped after nine innings due to darkness, leaving fans on the edge of their seats. The Nittany Lions unleashed a 13-run frenzy on 11 hits, with
Bryce Kelly making his mark with key hits and runs.
Albright came out swinging in the first, racking up five runs on five hits. Anthony Knight's RBI double and Tyler Boccelli's sacrifice fly staked them to a 5-0 lead early on. But the Blue & White weren't backing down. They roared back in the second with four runs. Carsen Brey tripled, bringing in
Colby Crills, and
Lucas Bacher's single sent Brey home. Errors then allowed
Owen Grove and Bacher to cross the plate, tightening things to 6-4.
In the third, Berks edged closer with Brey's sacrifice fly scoring
Bryce Kelly, making it 6-5. By the fourth, the Nittany Lions leveled it at 6-6 when
Owen Grove doubled and scored on an error.
Albright surged ahead in the fifth, adding four runs with Chris Gorla's RBI double leading the charge. Berks found themselves trailing 10-6 after five.
The sixth inning saw the Blue & White claw back a bit.
Cade Baumgardner walked and scored on
Michael DeRichie's single, narrowing it to 10-7. Come the eighth, Berks mounted a comeback for the ages, scoring four. Brey doubled and scored on Bacher's single, DeRichie chipped in with a two-RBI single, and Baumgardner scored on a groundout, putting them up 11-10. Albright had another answer, plating two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to retake a 12-11 advantage.
Berks would not go away, in the top of the ninth Brey got the inning going, knocking a single up the middle and stealing second base. Bacher then launched a double into center field, scoring Brey to level the score at 12. Later in the inning, DiRichie lifted a sacrfice fly to right field allowing Bacher to score and give Berks a 13-12 lead. Albright answered with a run in the bottom of the ninth, and the game was called due to darkness at the end of the inning.
Carsen Brey was a standout, scoring three runs, racking up three hits, including a double and a triple, and grabbing two RBIs.
Lucas Bacher matched his energy with three hits, a double, and three RBIs, also crossing home plate three times.
Michael DeRichie drove in three runs on two hits, adding a sac fly to his tally.
Cade Baumgardner showed patience with three walks and two runs, along with four field assists.
Amanjeet Turka had a rough start, giving up five earned runs on five hits in one inning, with a WHIP of 6.00.
John Mudri stepped in with solid relief, pitching three innings with just one earned run on two hits, striking out three, and sporting a WHIP of 0.67.
Justin Fabbricatore faced challenges, allowing four earned runs on two hits in one-third of an inning, with a WHIP of 30.00.
Logan McMaster shone in his two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one, maintaining a WHIP of 0.50.
WHO'S NEXT
The Nittany Lions are set to return to action at noon this Saturday, March 14, when they host St. Mary's College of Maryland in Reading, Pennsylvania in thier conference and home opener.
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