MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – No. 21/24 Penn State Harrisburg advanced to the final weekend of the United East Championship Tournament thanks to a doubleheader sweep of Penn State Berks in second round action on Friday afternoon, May 2. The hometown Lions rolled to a 15-1 victory in the opener before finishing things off with a 12-2 win in the series clincher.
Fisher Druck was outstanding in earning the win, racking up a career-high 11 strikeouts without allowing an earned run in six innings thrown.
Blaine Waltimyer homered and drove in four runs in the first outing, while
Demetre Koutras III had a four-hit game.
Alexander Ruiz,
Drew Sassaman and
Lucas Floyd recorded three hits each. Ruiz doubled twice and Sassaman drove in three runs.
Penn State Berks (10-28) got on the board first thanks to an error in the top of the first inning but Penn State Harrisburg (30-9-1) tied things up in the bottom half behind back-to-back doubles from Koutras and Ruiz. The hometown Lions took the lead in the second when Waltimyer singled through the right side and scored Sassaman and Floyd before
Matthew Johansen and
Carlos Irizarry each drove in runs in the third. Floyd ended the inning's scoring with a double that plated
Coy Schwanger and Sassaman to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Druck retired the side in order in the fourth and the home team tacked on four more thanks to three walks, an RBI single from Sassaman and a sacrifice fly from Waltimyer. Druck tallied three more strikeouts in the top of the fifth and Waltimyer kept things rolling with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Moises Gonzalez drove in a run in the seventh and
Tim Haftl capped the game's scoring with a double that plated
Coy Baker in the eighth.
Game two started nearly identically with the visitors striking first with one run in the top of the first before Penn State Harrisburg (31-9-1) roared back. Waltimyer finished 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored.
Brendan Henn and
Sam DelCollo each homered and
Danny Eden earned the win after throwing three scoreless innings of relief and striking out five batters.
After Penn State Berks (10-29) scored in the top of the first, Waltimyer led off the bottom half with a double and Koutras brought him around with an RBI groundout. The home team took the lead with three runs in the second before the visitors cut the deficit to 4-2 with a solo home run in the top of the third.
In the fifth, Waltimyer singled home Floyd and Koutras scored Waltimyer for the second time with another RBI groundout. In the sixth, Waltimyer drove in Floyd again and
Brendan Henn smashed a home run over the fence in left field to give Penn State Harrisburg some breathing room and 9-2. DelCollo eventually put things out of reach for good with a three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth.
Caiden Ertter and
Dylan Sattazahn spelled Eden in the eighth and combined for two scoreless innings of relief to end the contest.
NOTABLES
- Druck turned in one of the best performances of his career in game one, striking out 11 batters and surrendering just four hits without an earned run in six innings. With the win, he improved to 5-1 on the season.
- Waltimyer was 5-for-7 on the day with a home run, a double, seven RBIs, four runs scored and a stolen base.
- Koutras finished 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in the opener.
- Sassaman had three hits, walked twice, drove in three runs and scored two more in game one.
- Ruiz and Floyd each doubled and had three hit games in the first contest.
- Henn went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in game two.
- Delcollo hit his first Penn State Harrisburg home run in the second outing, driving in three in the process.
- Eden earned his third win of the season in the nightcap, throwing three scoreless innings of relief and striking out five.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions advance to the final four of the United East Championship Tournament at Keystone next weekend. Penn State Harrisburg will open the weekend by facing third-seeded St. Mary's (Md.) on Friday afternoon.
STAY CONNECTED
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@pshbgathletics.