ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - No. 21/28 Penn State Harrisburg briefly left the winter weather behind, stepped foot on an outdoor diamond for the first time this spring and opened the 2026 campaign with a doubleheader split at North Carolina Wesleyan on Friday afternoon, Feb. 20. The Lions fell 8-4 in the season opener before rallying to pick up their first win—a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.
Despite outhitting the Battling Bishops, free bases plagued the visitors in game one. Demetre Koutras III and Braeden Piotrowski each homered, while Matthew Johansen had a multi-hit game. The finale saw the Lions fall behind early, put up four runs in the middle innings and hold off an NC Wesleyan comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth. Reliever Jack Maguire earned the win, while Alexander Ruiz and Tim Haftl each had two-hit games.
GAME 1
After falling behind in the bottom of the first, Penn State Harrisburg (0-1) cut an early 2-0 deficit in half when James Quici drove in the first run of his career with a single that plated Johansen in the top of the fourth. The home team responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half but Koutras returned the favor in the top of the fifth, hitting the first home run of the spring—a two-run shot to left field that cut the deficit back to one.
NC Wesleyan (1-4) kept swinging, however, and used its second home run of the contest to stretch the advantage back to 6-3 after five. Walks and a wild pitch allowed the home team to tack on two more in the sixth and despite the first home run of Piotrowski's career in the top of the seventh, the Lions were unable to push across any more runs in the final two stanzas.
GAME 2
For the second time in as many games, Penn State Harrisburg (1-1) fell behind in the early innings. In game two, however, the Lions roared back in the middle stanzas, plating three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
After doubling in game one, Blaine Waltimyer drove in his first run of the season when he singled to first base and scored Haftl from third. Coy Schwanger followed with an infield single to shortstop that plated Piotrowski and tied the game before Waltimyer put the visitors out in front when he came across thanks to a wild pitch later in the stanza.
Nathan Lapp added an insurance run in the top of the sixth when a Battling Bishop error allowed him to score from third base and Maguire handled the NC Wesleyan lineup well into the late innings. The home team finally threatened in the bottom of the ninth, cutting the deficit to one with two outs but Bradyn Eckert shut down the rally and stranded a pair of baserunners with a game-ending strikeout that sealed the victory.
NOTABLES
- Penn State Harrisburg pitchers walked an uncharacteristic nine batters in the opener.
- Benjamin Ross was strong in his first relief appearance of the season, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out four batters in game one.
- Koutras homered, drove in a pair of runs and scored another in the first outing.
- Johansen went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in the opening contest.
- Maguire threw 4.1 innings of relief to earn the win in game two, striking out five and allowing just one earned run.
- Eckert secured his first save of the spring in the nightcap, throwing the final 0.2 innings and ending the game with a strikeout.
- Christian Lubic II got the start in the second outing, allowing just two runs on four hits to go along with five strikeouts in four innings of work.
- Ruiz and Haftl each recorded two hits and stole a base in the day's final contest.
- The Lions swiped seven bags in the second outing.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions close out their season-opening series with NC Wesleyan with a single game on Saturday 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.
