MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Brendan Henn made program history and No. 14/14 Penn State Harrisburg got back on track with a doubleheader sweep of conference foe St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday afternoon, April 19. The Lions never trailed in a 6-3 victory in game one before cruising to a 16-6 win in seven innings in the finale.


After a pitcher's duel broke out for the first half of the opener, the Lions (24-8-1, 9-3 United East) broke through in the bottom of the fifth when a Blaine Waltimyer double drove in Matthew Johansen and Lucas Floyd. After a Brendan Henn single to center field, Waltimyer stole home thanks to some crafty base running from Henn. 


The Seahawks (9-11, 9-3 United East) got one back in the sixth but the home team went back to work in the bottom half, scoring three runs on two hits, including a Waltimyer two-out single that plated Drew Sassaman and Johansen, as well as adding some insurance when a passed ball allowed Carlos Irizarry to score from third. 


The visitors added single runs in the seventh and ninth frames but in the final stanza, reliever Danny Eden struck out one batter before inducing a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to end the game.


Penn State Harrisburg (25-8-1, 10-3 United East) needed just two innings to set the tone in the nightcap, as an eight-run second put things out of reach. In the bottom of the first, Demetre Koutras III drove in Waltimyer with single to center field but the Lions used nine hits in the second, including doubles from Moises Gonzalez, Floyd, Koutras and Tim Haftl to plate eight and make it 9-1 in the blink of an eye. 


The home team put up another crooked number in the fourth, this time a five spot that was punctuated by a Waltimyer two-run home run that brought Sassaman around with him after a Sassaman double drove in Gonzalez and Haftl. Penn State Harrisburg added two more in the fifth thanks to a Sam Merchant RBI single and a Braeden Piotrowski base knock that plated Gonzalez. 


NOTABLES
- Henn went 2-for-4 with a double in the opener before recording the 200th hit of his career in game two. He joined former standouts Bret Williams, Chase Smith and Dallas Hite as Penn State Harrisburg players to achieve the feat.
- Waltimyer drove in eight total runs, hit two doubles and a home run and stole a pair of bases on the day.
- Sassaman was 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored in game one.
- Johansen scored two runs in the first outing. 
- Lubic earned the win in game one, allowing just two runs in 6.1 innings of work.
- Eden finished one out shy of a save in the first contest, allowing just one run with six strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief.
- Koutras was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored in game two. 
- Haftl scored three runs in the nightcap. 


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to Keystone for another key conference matchup on Tuesday afternoon.


STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Facebook, X, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.