SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — Penn State Berks faced off against Penn State Schuylkill in a doubleheader on Wednesday, resulting in a tight loss in game 1, 4-3, followed by a more decisive defeat in game 2, 10-3.
In the first game, the Nittany Lions tallied three runs on three hits, including two doubles, but couldn't quite match Schuylkill's 12-hit performance. The game kicked off with Schuylkill seizing an early lead in the second inning. IOwenShoop's single brought Joey Ruggiero home, and Andrew Klotz's hit brought Dan Zimmerman in, making it 2-0.
By the fifth inning, Berks had fought back to even the score.
Jackson Brancato reached base on an error,
Owen Grove singled, and
Michael DeRichie delivered a double that sent Brancato and Grove across the plate, knotting it up at 2-2. Schuylkill pulled ahead again in the sixth when Yostin Guerrero scored off Shawn Pallay's single, bringing it to 3-2.
The Blue & White weren't done yet. In the seventh,
Cade Baumgardner drew a walk, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on an error, leveling the score at 3-3. But Schuylkill had the final say, with Conner Licklider scoring the decisive run off a Ruggiero single. Berks couldn't add any more runs, closing out the game with a narrow 4-3 loss.
Michael DeRichie shone with a double and two RBIs.
Landon Reyes added a double, and
Cade Baumgardner scored and stole a base. On the mound,
Justin Hefner pitched five solid innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out one, while giving up seven hits.
Amanjeet Turka came in for 1 1/3 innings of relief, allowing five hits and two earned runs, while striking out two without issuing any walks.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Penn State Berks dropped game 1, 10-3. The Nittany Lions tallied five hits and three runs, but Penn State Schuylkill countered with ten hits, including a home run and a triple, securing a decisive win. Berks jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning.
Andrew Seibert drew a walk, and after
Bryce Kelly and
Landon Reyes reached on consecutive errors by the shortstop, Seibert and Kelly crossed the plate. However, Schuylkill quickly responded with four runs in the bottom of the first, fueled by Zimmerman's three-run triple, to take a 4-2 lead.
In the fourth inning,
Colby Crills doubled and came home on
Owen Grove's sacrifice fly, closing the gap to 4-3. Schuylkill pulled away in the fifth inning with a solo homer from Roman Cieless and a two-run single by Shoop, stretching their lead to 7-3. The sixth inning saw Schuylkill add three more runs, with Cieless scoring on a wild pitch and Alex Fantaskey crossing home on a single by Blake Deiter, making it 10-3.
Berks couldn't generate any more offense, and the game ended with Schuylkill on top, 10-3.
Bryce Kelly notched a hit and scored a run, reaching base on an error as well.
Colby Crills contributed a double, scored a run, and added a walk to his stats. On the mound, John Murdi pitched one inning, facing four batters and allowing only one hit with one strikeout.
Steven Sepko went 3 1/3 innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs, striking out one.
Mike Kelemen started the game, facing nine batters and conceding four earned runs on one hit with three walks in just 2/3 of an inning.
Jackson Brancato and
Tyler Gilbert combined for 1/3 of an inning, with Brancato allowing two hits but no runs, while Gilbert faced four batters, yielding three earned runs.
WHO'S NEXT
The Blue & White will head to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to take on Bloomsburg University at 11:00 AM on Sunday, March 8.
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