Scranton Lions Baseball Drops Two at Penn State York 

Scranton Lions Baseball Drops Two at Penn State York 

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics 

On Friday afternoon, the visiting Penn State Scranton Lions baseball squad lost both ends of their doubleheader to conference foe Penn State York by the scores of 10-0 and 8-1 respectively. With the pair of defeats, Scranton sees their overall record go to 7-15 and their all-important conference mark moves to 0-6. 

In the game one five inning affair, the hometown York Lions scored early and often as they cruised to their dominant 10-0 shutout triumph, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the first inning, one each in the third and fourth frames, and a whopping six spot in the fifth. York also out hit Scranton in the contest by a 12-2 margin. 

The road warrior Scranton Lions had their only hits come off the bats of their sophomore third baseman and team captain Mike DeWolfe and freshman catcher Thomas McIntyre who each tallied base knocks. Meanwhile, York had a quartet of players put up sensational multi-hit performances, as freshman second baseman Nathan Fowler, fellow freshman, right fielder Brandon Shirk, sophomore first baseman Ryan Schubert, and junior catcher Shane Hulbert set the pace for their club. Fowler led the way going a perfect 3-3 at the plate, crushing a two run home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning, drilling a double as well, scoring a trio of runs, and recorded two RBI in the showdown. Shirk was 2-3 at the dish, with a double, two runs scored, a pair of RBI, and a stolen base to boot. Schubert went 2-4, hammering a double, and drove in two runs. Last but certainly not least, Hulbert was 2-3 and chipped in with an RBI. 

On the pitching side of things, Scranton started senior Justin Craigg on the mound and he took the loss, tossing two innings, allowing a pair of earned runs, a hat trick of hits, no walks, and struck out a York batter. Freshman hurler John Paffenroth came in relief out of the pen and threw 2 and 2/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs, nine hits, and a couple of bases on balls in his outing. Meanwhile, York had junior Cole Sinnott toe the slab and he earned the win on the bump, throwing a dazzling five inning complete game shutout, giving up just two base hits, no walks, and fanned a robust seven Scranton batters in his commanding start. 

In the game two nightcap seven inning affair, York once again slugged their way to a big home win, as they tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, two more in the second, a trio in the third, and one more for good measure in the sixth inning to coast to their 8-1 triumph. Scranton's lone run to avoid the shutout came in the top of the second inning. Overall, York led in the hit department by a solid 11-3 margin. 

Scranton's hits came from junior center fielder Garrett Walsh, freshman left fielder Ryan Vinton, and freshman catcher Guy Mushow. Walsh laced a triple, Vinton drove in his team's only run in the second inning by smoking a double to left field to drive in senior second baseman Mark Longo, and Mushow ripped a base knock as well in the contest. Meanwhile, York had a trio of players with stand-out multi-hit performances, as Shirk, Schubert, and Hulbert led the way at the plate. Shirk was 2-3, with a walk, a stolen base, scored twice, and collected an RBI. Schubert went 2-4, scoring a run, and had an RBI. Lastly, Hulbert was 2-4, scored a run, and smashed a double. 

In the pitching department, Scranton started McIntyre on the mound and he took the loss, tossing five gritty innings, allowing five earned runs, 10 hits, a trio of walks, and fanned three York batters. Freshman Alex Ferguson came in relief out of the bullpen and he threw the final inning for his club, surrendering just one earned run, a base hit, and a walk in his appearance. Meanwhile, York started sophomore Jackson Lauzon on the bump, as he earned the victory while throwing a dominant six innings, allowing just one earned run, three hits, four walks, and struck out five Scranton hitters. Finally, freshman Eli Weigle finished up the day's long baseball festivities by tossing the final inning, allowing no runs or hits, walked a pair, and fanned a hat trick of batters. 

Now second-year head coach Collin Ferguson and his 7-15 Penn State Scranton baseball squad will look to snap their mini two game losing skid when they get the chance at some immediate revenge when they host Penn State York at Matt McGloin Field on Saturday afternoon for a special "Bark in the Park" day, with the doubleheader kicking-off at 12 noon. Head coach Todd Meckley's Penn State York ball club heads into the doubleheader on a two game winning streak with an overall 8-6 record and a strong 5-1 mark in their crucial league play schedule.