Scranton Lions Baseball Drops Two on Senior Day

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a gorgeous Friday afternoon at Matt McGloin Field, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions baseball squad dropped both ends of their Senior Day doubleheader to conference rival Penn State Hazleton by the scores of 3-2 and 8-2 respectively. With these pair of losses, Scranton now sees their overall record move to 7-26 and they are 0-14 in crucial league play contests with only two remaining games left in their 2023 regular season campaign. On a bright note, the Lions from Scranton honored the tremendous accomplishments of their two senior baseball players during their annual Senior Day festivities, as senior ace pitcher Mark Longo and Justin Craigg played in their final two home games of their stellar collegiate careers.

In the game one seven inning affair, it was a neck-in-neck nail-biter throughout, as Scranton and Hazleton each scored a run in their half of the third and sixth frames respectively to have things all tied up at 2-2 heading into the seventh and final inning of the contest. However, the road warrior Hazleton squad scored the winning run in the decisive final frame when their freshman center fielder Jacob Barto scored on a passed ball and after Scranton was held scoreless in their final at-bats they would end up falling just short in the 3-2 heart breaking defeat. Overall, Scranton actually out hit their opponent by a 5-3 margin in the opening ball game.

Scranton had base knocks in the matchup from freshman center fielder Guy Mushow, sophomore pitcher and team-captain Mike DeWolfe, senior right fielder Craigg, and freshman third baseman Alex Ferguson. Mushow led the way with his club's only multi-hit performance, as he went a stalwart 2-3 at the dish. DeWolfe was 1-2 at the plate, crushing a booming double, scored a run, and collected an RBI. Craigg went 1-2 and Ferguson went 1-3 in the battle. Sophomore first baseman Zach Benson picked up his team's other RBI in the contest, and a combo of freshmen in catcher Thomas McIntyre and shortstop Alex Pagotto each drew a walk, as Pagotto also scored his club's other run in the showdown.

Meanwhile, Hazleton had their base hits come off the bat of junior shortstop Colin Hoy, freshman catcher Andrew Meitzler, and sophomore left fielder Solomon Grant. Hoy was 1-2, smashed a double, walked once, and knocked in a run. Meitzler went 1-3 and had his squad's other RBI in the ball game. Finally, Grant was 1-2 and scored a run during the festivities.

On the pitching side of things, Scranton started DeWolfe on the mound and he picked up the hard luck, complete game one run loss, as he pitched a dazzling seven innings, only allowing a trio of earned runs, a hat trick of hits, five bases on balls, and fanned a robust six Hazleton batters on the day. Meanwhile, Hazleton had freshman Eli Tyrrell toe the slab for their squad and he earned the hard fought win on the bump, throwing all seven innings, giving up just a pair of earned runs, five base hits, a couple of walks, and struck out eight Scranton hitters in his impressive starting performance.

In the game two nightcap seven inning affair, Hazleton scored early and often, as they tallied a couple of runs in each of the first three innings, another run in the top of the fourth, and one more for good measure in the sixth frame, as they coasted to their six run, 8-2 road triumph. Meanwhile, Scranton recorded their runs by scoring once in the bottom half of the second frame and one more time in their final at-bats of the game in the seventh inning. Overall, Scranton was out hit by their opponent by a 9-6 margin in the nightcap.

Scranton's hits came from Mushow, McIntyre, DeWolfe, Pagotto, and freshman right fielder Ryan Vinton. Mushow once again was the Lions only player to have a multi-hit game, as he led the way going 2-3 at the plate. McIntyre went 1-3, with a walk, stole a base, and picked up an RBI single in the seventh inning. DeWolfe was 1-4, Pagotto was also 1-4 and scored a run, and last but certainly not least, Vinton was 1-3, drilling a double, walking once, and tallied a run during the proceedings. The Lions other RBI came from sophomore third baseman Javier Rivera, and Benson, Longo, and Craigg each drew walks in the matchup.

Meanwhile, Hazleton had base knocks from freshman second baseman Devin Wertz, Hoy, sophomore right fielder Eddie Wess, senior first baseman Jacob Taschler, Grant, sophomore pinch hitter Chris Neyhard, freshman Connor Ceci, and fellow freshman, catcher Hunter Schmidt. Wertz led the way going 2-4, scoring once, and drove in a run. Hoy was 1-2, swiped three bags, scored twice, and had an RBI. Wess went 1-3, scored a run, knocked one in, and stole a base to boot. Taschler was 1-2, walked twice, scored a run, and collected an RBI. Grant went 1-2 and had an RBI, Neyhard went a perfect 1-1 coming off the bench and tallied a pair of runs, and finally, Ceci and Schmidt both went 1-1 at the dish as well. Tyrrell came into the game as a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth inning and had his club's final RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Wertz.

In the pitching department, Scranton started freshman hurler John Paffenroth on the hill and he picked up the loss, tossing the first four gritty innings, allowing seven earned runs, six hits, a trio of walks, and fanned a quartet of Hazleton batters. Ferguson came in relief out of the pen for the Lions and he threw the final three frames, surrendering just one earned run, a hat trick of hits, one lone walk, and struck out a hitter in his solid outing. Meanwhile, Hazleton started junior Ryan Wingerter and he went the distance and earned the win on the bump, throwing a commanding seven strong innings, giving up just a pair of earned runs, six base knocks, five bases on balls, and struck out a robust six Scranton hitters on the day.

Now second-year head coach Collin Ferguson and his 7-26 Penn State Scranton baseball squad will look to snap their 13 game losing streak and get immediate revenge to end their year on a high note when they wrap up their regular season with a big road conference doubleheader at Penn State Hazleton on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 11am. Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Nietz and his Penn State Hazleton ball club, who with their pair of victories over Scranton improved their overall record to 12-20 and 4-10 in integral league play, will enter their Senior Day home doubleheader against Scranton looking to extend their three game winning streak and end their 2023 regular season in dynamite fashion.