CAC Playoff Tournament – Game 4

Penn State Harrisburg 10, No. 6 Salisbury 5

Harrisburg Lineup

1. Torres 2b, 2. Smith cf, 3, Williams lf, 4. Van Houten, dh, 5. McSorley ss, 6. Koroneos 1b, 7. Winters rf, 8. Aug c, 9. Struve 3b, Vogwill p

SU Lineup

1. Hyder rf, 2. Adkins 3b, 3. Meekins cf, 4. Monaghan dh, 5. Haas lf, 6. Gutekunst 2b, 7. Perry 1b, 8. Barry ss, 9. Padeway c, Burton p

How It Happened

Thanks to a 10-5 victory over No. 6 Salisbury on Saturday afternoon, May 4, Penn State Harrisburg punched its ticket to the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Playoff Tournament Championship Round for the second consecutive year.

The Lions (31-11-1) rebounded from a loss to the Sea Gulls (34-8-1) earlier in the day thanks to a stellar starting pitching effort from Mason Vogwill that saw the freshman go seven innings and allow just three runs. Miguel Torres, Travis Van Houten and Ryan McSorley each had multi-hit outings, with Van Houten and McSorley driving in three runs apiece.

The Blue & White set the tone early when Van Houten's single up the middle drove in Torres and McSorley's base hit plated Chase Smith and Bret Williams in the top of the first inning. The team's next three runs came in the form of solo homers, with Casey Winters, Torres and Tyler Aug going yard in the third, fourth and sixth frames, respectively.

Van Houten drove in his second run of the game when his sixth-inning single scored Jackson Struve and McSorley pushed the lead to 8-2 after six with a single through the left side that plated Williams for the second time.

Leading 8-3 in the seventh, Penn State Harrisburg tacked on another run when Torres' sacrifice fly to center field pushed Winters across. The Lions added an insurance run in the top of the eighth when a Van Houten sac fly to right field allowed Williams to tag up from third base.

Salisbury manufactured a run in the bottom of the ninth but reliever Tyler Jackson worked the home team into three ground outs to end the Sea Gulls' CAC Playoff run and send the Blue & White on to the tournament's championship series next weekend.

At the Plate

- Travis Van Houten was 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and one walk.

- Miguel Torres went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

- Ryan McSorley added two hits and drove in three runs.

- Casey Winters and Tyler Aug each hit solo home runs.

- Bret Williams finished 1-for-3 with a triple, two walks and three runs scored.

On the Mound

- Starter Mason Vogwill earned the win, allowing just three earned runs on nine hits and three walks in seven innings thrown. He also struck out five batters.

- Reliever Tyler Jackson threw the final two innings and surrendered just one run on three hits.

- Corey Burton took the loss for Salisbury. The Lions chased the SU starter from the game after he gave up three runs on three walks and one hit without recording an out.

Around the Diamond

- The Lions 31st victory on the year matches the program record for single-season wins set last spring.

- Penn State Harrisburg had one error, leading to one unearned run for the Sea Gulls.

- SU committed a pair of errors but they did not lead to any unearned runs.

- Outfielders Casey Winters, Chase Smith and Bret Williams combined for nine putouts.

- Second baseman Miguel Torres tallied a team-high three assists.

Who's Next?

The Lions will travel to No. 2 Christopher Newport for the CAC Playoff Tournament Championship Series beginning on Friday afternoon, May 10.

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