MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - No. 12/15 Penn State Harrisburg swept a United East doubleheader from conference foe Penn State Berks in convincing fashion on Saturday afternoon, April 5. The hometown Lions handled the visitors 11-1 in eight innings in the day's first outing before rolling to a 13-2, seven-inning victory in the nightcap.


Fisher Druck earned the win in game one, allowing just one hit with four strikeouts in five innings thrown. Lucas Floyd had two hits, including a double, scored three runs and drove in another, while Drew Sassaman also had a multi-hit game. Demetre Koutras hit his first home run of the season and drove in a pair of runs.


Druck retired the first 12 batters he faced and Penn State Harrisburg (20-4-1, 5-1 United East) got the offense going in the bottom of the fourth, using three hits, a walk, a sacrifice fly and two errors to plate four runs. Moises Gonzalez, Floyd and Blaine Waltimyer each drove in runs during the stanza.


Brendan Henn opened the fifth with a single through the left side and Koutras followed it up with a monstrous two-run blast over the fence in left field to push the lead to 6-0. Penn State Berks (6-20, 3-5 United East) got on the board with a lone run in the top of the sixth but the home team answered back with a double steal that plated Floyd in the bottom half.


After Benjamin Ross retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, the hometown Lions took advantage of three errors and scored four runs without recording a hit to end the game early.


In the nightcap, Gonzalez hit a home run and drove in five runs, while Waltimyer and Brendan Henn had two hits apiece. Jack Maguire earned his first win of the season on the mound, allowing just two runs on two hits in 5.1 innings of work.


Penn State Harrisburg (21-4-1, 6-1 United East) put up two quick runs in the bottom of the first, with Waltimyer stealing third and scoring on an ensuing error before a Koutras double plated Henn. The visiting Lions (6-21, 3-6 United East) cut the deficit in half in the third but the home team answered back with four runs in the bottom half when Gonzalez hit an opposite field, three-run home run before a Floyd groundout drove in Tim Haftl.


In the fourth, Waltimyer led off with his 15th double of the spring and Koutras eventually worked a bases-loaded walk to up the lead to 7-2. Gonzalez came through with a bases-loaded single that scored Sassaman and Henn, and Haftl's ensuing sacrifice fly plated Koutras to stretch the advantage to eight through four.


Penn State Harrisburg added one more in the fifth and two more in the sixth and Michael Paciotti stranded a pair of Penn State Berks runners on the basepaths in the top of the seventh to end game two and secure the doubleheader sweep.


NOTABLES
- Druck earned his fourth win of the season in game one, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters.
- Ross threw the final three innings of the opener, allowing just one run on one hit.
- Floyd went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, three runs scored and an RBI.
- Sassaman had a multi-hit game one.
- Koutras hit his first home run of the season and drove in two runs in the first outing.
- Gonzalez finished 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored in game two.
- Henn went 2-for-2 with a double and three runs scored in the nightcap.
- Waltimyer was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored in the second game.
- Maguire earned the win in the second contest, allowing just two runs on two hits in 5.1 innings thrown.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions have a quick turnaround as they travel to Scranton for a single non-conference contest on Sunday 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.