The Lancaster Bible College baseball team saw its season come to an end on Monday in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Semifinal Series, as the Chargers lost the deciding game three to Penn St. Harrisburg, 7-5 in Middletown, Pa. The Chargers battled for nine innings, but couldn't muster enough offense in the final innings to hang with the high-powered offense of the Nittany Lions.
 
The Chargers end their year with an 8-13 overall record, while the Nittany Lions advance to the NEAC Championship Series with a 26-7 overall record. Penn St. Harrisburg will face the winner of the Penn St. Abington – Penn College series.
 
How it Happened: Penn St. Harrisburg left runners on base in each of the first three innings, including the third, when Lancaster Bible starter Blake Greenly worked out of a 2-out jam that saw the Nittany Lions put runners on second and third.
 
After both teams went scoreless over the opening three innings, Lancaster Bible got on the board in the fourth, as Kaden Hunt led off with a walk, followed by a single from Josh Saufley that moved Hunt to third. After a pitching change, Greenly was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Jaden Pinkney and Ethan Varricchione popped out, but Jake Hahn followed with a two-run single to left-center field to put the Chargers ahead, 2-0.
 
Greenly retired the side in order in the bottom half of the fourth, and then allowed just one hit in the fifth, as the Chargers continued to lead, 2-0. Pinkney doubled the lead to 4-0 in the top of the sixth, as he blasted a two-run home run to left field that scored Saufley who had led off the inning with a hit.
 
Penn St. Harrisburg got back into the game in the bottom of the inning, as Bret Williams hammered his 17^th home run of the season, and after another run and chasing Greenly, Dallas Hite hit a two-run double down the left field line that tied the game at 4-4.
 
Lancaster Bible punched right back with a run in the top of the seventh, as Adam Naylor was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to third after a single from Brian Coburn and a throwing error by the Nittany Lions. Saufley hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning to score Naylor, but Lancaster Bible missed an opportunity to extend the lead.
 
Penn St. Harrisburg came right back in the bottom of the seventh and quickly loaded the bases. After an out, the Nittany Lions drew two straight walks to take their first lead of the afternoon at 6-5, and added an insurance run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly.
 
The Chargers went down in order in the eighth, but after two quick outs in the ninth, put runners on first and second thanks to a walk and yet another hit-by-pitch. Lancaster Bible couldn't bring the runners around however, and lost to the top-seeded Nittany Lions.
 
Inside the Box Score: Saufley finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI…Coburn, Pinkney, Varricchione, and Hahn each had a hit, while Pinkney and Hahn each drove in two runs… Greenly pitched 5 2/3 innings of terrific ball, as he allowed just four hits, while striking out six and walking five…Zach Clemens, Josh Noll, Nick Bair, and Jacob Stong each pitched for the Chargers as well…Williams was 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs, and an RBI for the Nittany Lions.
 
The Coach Says: "It has been a great year, and I'm excited for the future of this program," Lancaster Bible Head Coach Frank DiFilippo said. "We will miss our seniors who have built a tremendous foundation for our culture. Though we didn't get the result we wanted today, this was a program-building series, and we will learn from it, and improve throughout the offseason."
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 6-28 all-time against the Nittany Lions…The Chargers were 1-6 against Penn St. Harrisburg this season, and 7-7 against everyone else…Varricchione led the Chargers in hitting this season with a .389 average, as 13 of his team-high 28 hits were for extra bases…Greenly was second on the team with a .338 average and led the team and the conference by being hit by a pitch 10 times this season…Six different players had 20 or more hits for the Chargers.