Scranton Lions Baseball Falls in Doubleheader to Penn State Schuylkill

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a Sunday afternoon road matinee, the visiting Penn State Scranton Lions baseball squad dropped both ends of their doubleheader to conference foe Penn State Schuylkill by the scores of 4-3 and 7-0 respectively. With the pair of defeats, Scranton now sees their overall record move to 7-22 and 0-12 in the all-important league play schedule entering the final week of their 2023 regular season campaign.

In the game one seven inning affair, it was a neck-in-neck close battle throughout, as Schuylkill won a nail-biter by the slimmest of margins, 4-3. Schuylkill scored a pair of runs in both the bottom half of the second and third innings to account for the four runs they plated in the contest. Meanwhile, the Lions from Scranton roared back with a pair of runs in the top of the second and one in the sixth before seeing their valiant comeback attempt fall just short by a mere run. Scranton actually out hit their opponent 8-4 in the matchup.

Scranton got base knocks from freshman third baseman Alex Ferguson, sophomore pitcher and team captain Mike DeWolfe, freshman left fielder Guy Mushow, sophomore first baseman Zach Benson, freshman catcher Thomas McIntyre, senior second baseman Mark Longo, and freshman shortstop Alex Pagotto. Ferguson led the way with his club's lone multi-hit performance of the showdown, as he went 2-4 at the plate and stole a game-high two bases. DeWolfe was 1-3 at the dish, swiped a bag, and drove in a team-high two RBI. Mushow was 1-4, stole a base, and drove in his team's other RBI in the contest. Benson was 1-4, McIntyre was 1-3, Longo was 1-2 and scored a run, Pagotto was 1-3 and tallied a run, and honorable mention goes to junior center fielder Garrett Walsh who reached base once via the walk and stole a base to boot.

The Schuylkill Lions had base hits from junior third baseman Owen Zimmerman, senior second baseman Evan Kosar, junior catcher Ethan Naftzinger, and freshman shortstop Owen Kosar. Zimmerman led the way for his squad going 1-3 and drove in a team-high two RBI. The second baseman E. Kosar picked up his team's other RBI and also went 1-3 at the dish.

On the pitching side of things, Scranton had DeWolfe toe the slab and he pitched all six innings and picked up the hard luck one run loss on the mound, allowing just a pair of earned runs, four hits, one lone walk, and fanned four batters in his quality start. Meanwhile, Schuylkill started freshman hurler Austin Miller on the bump and he earned the victory, tossing a stellar 6 and 2/3 innings, giving up just two earned runs, eight base hits, one walk, and struck out five Scranton hitters. Zimmerman came in relief out of the bullpen and got the final out of the contest by striking out the only batter he faced in his scoreless 1/3 of an inning he pitched to pick up the clutch save for his club.

In the game two nightcap seven inning affair, Schuylkill scored early and often, as they tallied a quartet of runs in the bottom of the first inning, scored a pair in the second, and added a run for extra cushion in the sixth frame to coast to their 7-0 shutout home triumph. Scranton was out hit in the ball game by a 10-2 margin.

Scranton's two base knocks came from Mushow and Longo who each recorded hits, and DeWolfe was his team's other base runner in the contest reaching via the walk. Meanwhile, Schuylkill had a well-balanced offensive attack with four players who put up multi-hit performances in the battle, as senior first baseman Jake Leininger, sophomore designated hitter Chase Herb, Naftzinger, and O. Kosar set the pace for their squad. Leininger led the way with a game-high three hits, going a superb 3-4 at the dish, scored once, and knocked in a trio of runs in the matchup. Herb was 2-4, scored a couple of runs, and knocked in a pair. Naftzinger also went 2-4 and collected an RBI. Last but certainly not least, O. Kosar was 2-4 at the plate and drove home a run. Schuylkill's other hit in the game came from junior right fielder Jared Sterner who went 1-3 and scored a run.

In the pitching department, Scranton started Benson on the mound and he picked up the loss, tossing a pair of innings, surrendering just two earned runs, six hits, no walks, and struck out a batter. Mushow came in relief out of the pen and threw a dazzling four innings, giving up just one earned run, four base hits, a hat trick of bases on balls, and fanned a trio of hitters in his outing. Meanwhile, Schuylkill started freshman Owen Shoop on the bump and he earned the complete game shutout victory, throwing a commanding seven innings, allowing no runs, just a pair of hits, one walk, and struck out six Scranton batters in his dominant effort.

Now second-year head coach Collin Ferguson and his 7-22 Penn State Scranton Lions baseball squad will look to bounce back and snap their nine game losing skid when they next host non-conference foe Central Penn for a doubleheader this Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 2pm. Meanwhile, head coach Jim Misstishin and his Penn State Schuylkill ball club, who with their pair of victories over Scranton saw their overall record improve to 16-8 and a robust 11-5 in crucial league play, will look to extend their four game winning streak when they next go on the road to Wilkes-Barre to battle non-league foe the King's College Monarchs in a single, nine-inning contest this Wednesday afternoon beginning at 4pm.