Riding high on the team's first 4-0 start since the 1980 season, the Lancaster Bible College baseball team couldn't get key hits or outs on Wednesday, and dropped a doubleheader to visiting Penn College. The Wildcats took game one, 2-0, and then used four home runs to defeat the Chargers, 13-8 in game two. The losses drop the Chargers to 4-2 overall and 4-2 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play, while Penn College improved to 2-2 overall and 2-2 in conference action.
 
Game 1
Penn College 2, Lancaster Bible 0
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible starter Jacob Stong and Penn College starter Justin Porter were in control of the game over the first four innings, as Porter carried a no-hitter into the fifth and kept the Lancaster Bible hitters off balance.
 
Stong was excellent as well, as he worked out of a jam in the second inning and then retired four straight batters in the third and fourth innings. Stong made one mistake in seven innings, as Brian Robison hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth that scored Samuel Zeigler who had singled to lead off the inning.
 
Lancaster Bible got hits from Adam Naylor and Brian Coburn in the bottom of the sixth with one out, but couldn't bring them around, and the Chargers stranded two more runners in the seventh to end the game.
 
Inside the Box Score: Stong pitched a complete game, as he scattered five hits over seven innings, and struck out two…Blake Greenly went 2-for-3 in game one, while Jake Hahn, Naylor, and Coburn also had hits…Porter threw six innings for the Wildcats, striking out eight, and allowing just three hits.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible was shutout for the first time since March 10, 2020 when the Chargers were blanked by Hood, 11-0 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
 
 
Game 2
Penn College 13, Lancaster Bible 8
How it Happened: After being shutout in game one, the Chargers scored in each of the first two innings of game two, as Josh Saufley hit an RBI double in the first inning that scored Coburn, and reigning NEAC Player of the Week Ethan Varricchione hit a solo home run in the second inning.
 
Penn College answered back with a run in the third, and then tied the game on a solo home run from Brittan Kittle in the top half of the fourth inning. Lancaster Bible regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Jaden Pinkney blasted a three-run home run to left field, and gave the Chargers a 5-2 lead.
 
The Wildcats answered right back in the top of the fifth, as Jacob Carles crushed a grand slam over the right field wall to give the Wildcats their first lead of game two, 6-5. Jake Wagner belted a two-run triple in the top of the sixth to stretch Penn College's lead to 8-5, and after Lancaster Bible left two more men on base in their half of the sixth, Kittle hit a two-run home run in the seventh to make it 10-5.
 
Landon Mowry and Nick Bair pitched well in the seventh and eighth innings, and the Chargers got some life breathed back into them in the bottom of the eighth on a three-run home run by Varricchione. Trailing 10-8 heading into the ninth inning, the Chargers looked for a quick inning, but Kittle's third home run of the game made it 12-8, and Cameron Dick followed with a solo blast to restore the five-run lead.
 
Inside the Box Score: Lancaster Bible had 12 hits in game two, led by Jaden Pinkney's 3-for-5 day that included three RBI and a run scored…Varricchione was 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Saufley was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI…Greenly started and went six innings for the Chargers, while Hunter Jordan picked up the win for the Wildcats…Kittle finished 3-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 3-11 all-time against Penn College…The Wildcats have won seven straight games against the Chargers, and Lancaster Bible has not defeated the Wildcats since April 27, 2017…Varricchione is batting .545 through six games this season, and leads the Chargers with 12 hits, three home runs and 10 runs batted in…The teams combined to make nine errors in game two.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Penn St. Harrisburg on Saturday at noon…The Chargers will honor their four seniors prior to the contest, and both games, including the Senior Day festivities, can be seen on the Chargers Sports Network beginning at 11:45 a.m.