Box Score
READING, Pa. – With a combined five runs in the sixth and seventh inning, the Lions (1-2) picked-up their first win of the 2011 season as they defeated local opponent Penn State Berks (0-1) by the final score of 8-5 Wednesday afternoon at Hintz Athletic Field.
Having his best afternoon this season was senior
Jojo Fischer who went 2-for-5 with three RBI's. Freshman
Nate Peiffer accounted for three of the Lions eight runs, while also going 1-for-3 at the plate.
On the hill junior right-hander
Matt Rehrig went 4 2/3 innings and totaled six strikeouts. Sophomore
Tyler Meckley closed out Wednesday's contest to earn the win after not surrendering a run through the final 4 1/3 innings. He tallied five strikeouts while only walking one batter.
Also making contact in the win was
Pat Brady,
Tom Canuso and
Matt Pannella. Brady and Canuso both went went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Pannella's lone hit came in the top of the sixth.
For the Nittany Lions Nick Vitelli led his team with three RBI on 2-for-4 hitting. Also going 2-for-4 was Kyle Hartman, who also tallied 1 RBI. Zach Guiles and Kevin Heilman did a majority of the work on the hill, but it was Heilman who was handed the loss, his first of the year.
Guiles started the contest and combined for four strikeouts and allowed just one hit. Heilman went just 2 2/3, but gave-up five runs on five hits and did not tally a strikeout.
Penn State Berks, notched the first two runs of the afternoon in the bottom half of the opening inning. After back-to-back scoreless innings, the red and white jumped out to a one run lead in the top of the fourth. Driving in two of the three runs was Fischer on a single up the middle.
Down but not out the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the bottom half of the fifth. Even with those three runs, the Lions offense never backed down and in the sixth scored three unearned runs to make it 6-5. Two more runs in the seventh would secure the Lions victory.
Baseball returns to action on Sunday when they face the University of Scranton in a non-conference twinbill. Sunday's games will be played at Diamond Nation in Flemington, N.J.
