The Lancaster Bible College baseball team dropped two close games to one of the top teams in the region, as the Chargers lost a doubleheader to Penn St. Abington on Saturday in Abington, Pa. The losses send the Chargers to 5-7 overall and 5-7 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while the Nittany Lions, who received votes in last week's D3baseball.com Top 25 Poll, improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in NEAC action.
 
Game 1
Penn St. Abington 2, Lancaster Bible 1
How it Happened: Game one was a pitching duel between Lancaster Bible starter Trevor High and Penn St. Abington starter Bill Trimble, as both starters took turns mowing down hitters and working out of jams. High worked out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning, while Trimble faced runners on second and third with nobody out in the fourth, and somehow did not allow a run.
 
High worked out of another tough spot in the fifth, while Trimble was replaced by Jamie Burkhart to begin the sixth inning. The game was scoreless through seven innings, and went to extras, as both teams left a runner on base in the seventh.
 
In the eighth, Kaden Hunt reached base via an error to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on the throw. Josh Saufley's groundout moved Hunt over to third, and after another out, Jaden Pinkney hit an RBI single to score Hunt and give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
 
High got the first two batters of the bottom of the eighth out, but walked Trimble to keep the inning alive. Darrien Mogel followed with a double to put runners on second and third with two outs, and a Lancaster Bible error followed that allowed the winning runs to score.
 
Inside the Box Score: High pitched 7 2/3 innings and allowed just five hits, while striking out three…Both runs he allowed were unearned, and High's 2021 earned run average dropped to 2.19 in 24 2/3 innings pitched…Ethan Varricchione, Jake Hahn, and Pinkney each had two hits in game one.
 
Game 2
Penn St. Abington 9, Lancaster Bible 7
How it Happened: Because game one went to extra innings, game two became a seven-inning contest, and the Chargers got on the board early, as Saufley hit a sacrifice fly to score Brian Coburn who had walked to lead off the inning. Penn St. Abington tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, but Lancaster Bible got it right back on an RBI single from Jake Hahn in the second.
 
Penn St. Abington tied the game in the bottom half of the third inning, but Lancaster Bible sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth, and took a 6-2 lead despite having just one hit in the inning. Blake Greenly got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Jacob Stong reached on an error which moved Greenly to third.
 
Hahn singled home Greenly to give the Chargers the lead, and Matthew Shaeffer reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases for Coburn. Coburn was hit by a pitch as well to bring another run in, and Hunt reached on yet another fielder's choice to make it 5-2, as Hahn crossed the plate. Varricchione hit another sacrifice fly for the Chargers later in the inning to extend the lead to four.
 
Penn St. Abington answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but another RBI single for Hahn built the lead back to two at 7-5 for the Chargers in the top of the fifth. Penn St. Abington tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, and then scored on a two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-7 advantage.
 
Inside the Box Score: Hahn finished 3-for-3 with three RBI in game two, while Greenly was 2-for-3 with two runs scored…Coburn started game two and pitched five innings, as he scattered eight hits, allowed four earned runs and struck out two.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 5-17 all-time against Penn St. Abington…The teams combined for seven errors in game two…Varricchione continues to lead the Chargers in hitting with a .442 average…Seven different players have 10 or more hits for the Chargers this season.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Penn St. Berks on Wednesday at 12 p.m…The games can be seen live on the Chargers Sports Network.