SCRANTON, Pa. – Following an intense ending to the opening game of the doubleheader, the Albright Lions baseball team rallied in game two for a win against the University of Scranton on Saturday afternoon.
 
Scranton took game one by a score of 2-1, while Albright captured a 3-2 decision in the second game.  The Lions begin the 2019-20 season with a record of 4-3 and the Royals hold a record of 2-3.
 
Game One
Sophomore Nick Sklenarik was walked in the initial inning of the game, but a strikeout and double play by the Royals closed the Lions' first quickly.  Scranton earned the first hit of the game as the first batter reached before he was caught stealing second.  The inning closed with two groundouts to keep the game scoreless.  Senior Jack Shevlin got on first after being hit by a pitch and classmate Brandon Daubert reached on a fielder's choice in the second inning.  Two Scranton groundouts and a pick off capped the Royals' offensive half of the inning.  After a fast third and fourth, Scranton got on the board in the fifth as a double by Scranton brought in a runner for a 1-0 lead.  Sophomore Chris Thomas earned a hit in the sixth, but a double play by Scranton ended the inning.  In the Royal's half of the sixth, the lead-off hitter was hit by a pitch and advanced to second as the next batter grounded out.  The Royals earned a RBI for a Scranton lead of 2-0 before a runner was caught out at home.  In the seventh inning, senior Jimmie Gentry reached on an error by the shortstop.  Sophomore Josh Jacavage doubled to right field to bring Gentry in for a RBI.  With one out for the Lions, Shevlin hit through the left side to reach first and Jacavage advanced to third.  Senior Logan Adams hit to second base to out Shevlin and Jacavage came home for a tied game.  Adams was initially called safe at first base, but an overruling by the home plate umpire gave Albright its third out, ending the game.
 
Senior pitcher Shaun O'Reilly was charged with the loss after pitching six innings and facing 26 batters, while Hunter Ralston earned the win for Scranton after seven innings and four strikeouts.  Albright recorded three hits to Scranton's seven.
 
Game Two
Albright carried over its momentum from the end of game one into the second game.  Senior Logan Pennypacker was walked to start the game and advanced to second after Daubert grounded out.  Pennypacker then stole third and scored on an error by the third baseman for an early lead of 1-0.  In the second, Shevlin doubled and Sklenarik also registered a hit, but Scranton tied the game in its offensive half of the inning.  The Royals singled up the middle before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch.  Scranton then bunted to bring the runner home for a 1-1 score.  In Scranton's half of the sixth, the Royals earned a 2-1 lead after a Royal was walked and advanced to second on a groundout before scoring on a single up the middle.  Albright rallied in the seventh as the inning began with Sklenarik being walked.  Senior Jakob Fry reached first on a fielding error and Alex Stump reached on a throwing error and Sklenarik came home for a 2-2 game.  Up next, Pennypacker singled to right field to bring in Fry for a RBI and a 3-2 Albright lead.  A fly out and two ground outs from Scranton in the final half of the inning secured a 3-2 win for the Lions.
 
Senior Nick Dinnocenti was credited with the win after pitching the final inning for the Lions and only allowing one hit in five batters faced.  Senior Will Tokarski started the game for the Lions and pitched 3.2 innings, facing 20 batters and earning three strikeouts before Jeremy Brubaker entered the game for two innings and faced seven batters and did not allow any hits.  Daniel Johnson was dealt the loss for the Royals after one inning pitched and one earned run.  Shevlin led the Lions with two hits and both Jacavage and Pennypacker earned RBIs in the split.  For the Royals, D Johnson was dealt the loss and C Harding tallied four hits and two RBIs as Kevin Haag and John Boscarino also registered a RBI.
 
Albright baseball returns home on Wednesday, March 11^th for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game against Gwynedd Mercy.