LA PLUME, Pa. — Penn State Berks fell to Keystone in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, with a final score of 12-2 in each contest. The Nittany Lions struggled offensively, managing just four hits in the first game and nine walks in the second.
In Game 1, Keystone took the lead in the second inning when Ray Moreta tripled, followed by Jonathan Santiago's RBI double. A sacrifice fly by Ethan Schimony brought in another run, giving Keystone a 2-0 advantage. The Giants extended their lead in the third inning with a combination of errors and timely hitting. Dee Rice scored on a groundout after advancing on an error, a balk allowed Carlos Pascual to score, and Dillion Bird drove in two more runs with a single, making it 6-0. Keystone added two more runs in the fourth inning when Ethan Schimony tripled and scored on Carlos Pascual's single, bringing the score to 8-0.
Penn State Berks got on the board in the sixth inning when
Owen Grove singled, and after loading the bases,
Michael DeRichie walked to bring in Grove, cutting the deficit to 8-1. Keystone responded with a run in the bottom half, as Dillion Bird scored on a single by Dee Rice, maintaining an 8-run lead. In the seventh inning,
Jackson Brancato scored an unearned run on a single by
Cade Baumgardner. Keystone sealed the game with three additional runs, including a sacrifice fly by Benny Hess and two runs scored on hit-by-pitches, setting the final score at 12-2.
Cade Baumgardner contributed two hits and drove in one run in the game, while
Colby Crills excelled defensively by catching two base stealers.
Luke Whelan started on the mound for the Blue & White, pitching 3 innings and allowing 3 earned runs on 4 hits, with 2 walks and 1 hit batter.
Amanjeet Turka came in as a relief pitcher, delivering 3 2/3 innings and conceding 4 earned runs on 7 hits, managing 2 strikeouts while issuing 2 walks and hitting 3 batters.
In Game 2, Keystone took an early lead with an RBI single from Benny Hess in the first inning, putting the Giants ahead 1-0. By the end of the second inning, Berks tied the game when
Michael Thalassinos scored on a walk by
Travis Loy, but the Giants responded with two runs in their half to lead 3-1. The Giants extended their lead to 6-1 in the third inning with three unearned runs, including a two-RBI double from Dillion Bird. The Blue & White reduced the deficit to 6-2 in the fourth when
Jackson Brancato scored on a single by
Cade Baumgardner.
Keystone added another run in the fifth inning, extending its lead to 7-2, and widened the advantage in the sixth with three runs on three hits, highlighted by Ray Moreta's RBI double, making it 10-2. In the seventh, Keystone capitalized on a wild pitch to score Ethan Schimony, pushing the score to 11-2, and added one more run in the eighth inning due to a balk, concluding the game with a 12-2 victory over Berks.
Andrew Seibert led the offense in Game 2 with two hits, including a double, and added a walk. Baumgardner contributed with an RBI and a hit while also drawing a walk. Brancato scored a run and drew two walks. On the mound, Loy pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out two but allowing seven earned runs and 10 hits.
Logan McMaster pitched 2 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits while walking 1 batter and hitting one batter, throwing a total of 31 pitches with 14 strikes.
WHO'S NEXT
The Blue & White are set to face Penn State Abington at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 in Abington, Pennsylvania.
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