MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Penn State Harrisburg fell to Ursinus by the slimmest of margins on Sunday night, Mar. 9 in the team's opening game of its three-day stint in Myrtle Beach.  The Lions grabbed the early lead before falling behind and rallying late, only to fall 3-2 in the end.

The Blue & White took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when freshman Tom Denniston (Harrisburg, Pa. / Bishop McDevitt) worked a walk after an impressive 11-pitch at bat.  Senior Travis Crammer (Cerritos, Cal. / Cerritos) moved him along to second base thanks to a ground ball and Denniston took third base and crossed the plate thanks to back-to-back wild pitches by the Ursinus pitcher. 

The Bears tied things up with a solo home run in the top of the second before using a double and a single to take a 3-1 advantage a few innings later.  

Penn State Harrisburg made a late push when Crammer worked a walk and sophomore Eric Hoover (Hershey, Pa. / Hershey) hit a high fly ball down the left field line that was mishandled by the outfielder.  The error allowed Crammer to score from first base and cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth stanza.

Unfortunately, that's as close as the Lions would get on this night as the Bears did just enough to escape with the hard-fought victory.

Penn State Harrisburg starting pitcher Tom Chaney (Lancaster, Pa. / Lampeter Strasburg) threw well, including six strong innings that saw him strike out six batters and allow three runs.  Relievers Nate Packer (Waymart, Pa. / Western Wayne) and Kenny Mott (Green, N.J. / Pope John) were impressive on the mound as well, allowing no runs in the game's final three innings.

After two-straight days of baseball, the Lions get a break on Monday before hitting the diamond again on Tuesday, Mar. 11 for doubleheader action against Mt. St. Mary's (N.Y.).