Saturday Surprise
The Lancaster Bible College baseball team did something on Saturday very few teams have done this season, and in the process, the Chargers kept their season alive. Lancaster Bible stunned top-seeded Penn St. Harrisburg in game one of the North Eastern Athletic Conference Semifinals on Saturday, earning a 6-3 victory, before the Nittany Lions tied the best-of-three series with a 14-6 game two victory.
 
Saturday's split sets up a decisive game three, which will take place on Monday in Middletown, Pa. at 1 p.m. Lancaster Bible now sits at 8-12 overall this season, while the Nittany Lions are now 25-7 overall.
 
Game 1
Lancaster Bible 6, Penn St. Harrisburg 3
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, as Kaden Hunt, Josh Saufley, and Blake Greenly hit three straight singles to load the bases. Jaden Pinkney followed with an RBI single to left field to put the Chargers up 1-0. Jake Hahn was up next, and hit into a fielder's choice that scored Saufley from third, and had Pinkney thrown out at second. On the throw to second however, Greenly rounded third, and made it 3-0 with some great base-running.
 
The lead grew to 4-0 in the third, as Hunt led off the inning with a double, and came around two score two batters later on an RBI single from Greenly. Penn St. Harrisburg cut into Lancaster Bible's lead in the fourth, as Bret Williams hit a two-run home run, but Lancaster Bible answered back in the sixth, as freshman Adam Naylor led off the inning with a single, and then scored two batters later when Josh Noll singled up the middle to make it 5-2.
 
As the Chargers' bats were taking advantage of chances in the top of the innings, Lancaster Bible starter Trevor High was doing his part in the bottom half, as he pitched six terrific innings, and left after six with a 5-2 lead. Lancaster Bible restored its four-run lead in the top of the ninth, as Greenly scored on a throwing error after Pinkney had grounded to shortstop.
 
Penn St. Harrisburg's Dallas Hite led off the ninth with a home run, but Jacob Stong kept his composure, and got the final three outs, and earned his first save of the season, as he pitched three great innings in relief.
 
Inside the Box Score: Greenly and Saufley each had three hits in game one, as Saufley was 3-for-4 with a run scored, and Greenly was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI…Hunt was 2-for-5 with two runs, while Noll was 2-for-4…Naylor had a hit and scored a run, while Pinkney had a hit and an RBI…High scattered six hits in six innings, while striking out four and walking four…He allowed just two earned runs…Stong allowed four hits and one earned run, while striking out one and walking three.
 
Game 2
Penn St. Harrisburg 14, Lancaster Bible 6
How it Happened: Penn St. Harrisburg got on the board first in game two, as Williams and Matt Parks had RBI singles in the inning. The lead grew to 6-0 in the third inning, as Williams hit another home run, and Parks scored later in the inning on an RBI groundout.
 
Lancaster Bible plated a run in the fourth inning, as Pinkney had an RBI single to center field that scored Hunt. The Chargers couldn't score more in the fourth however, and Penn St. Harrisburg scored once in the bottom of the inning, and then pulled away in the fifth with three more runs for a 10-1 lead.
 
Lancaster Bible cut the deficit to 10-3 in the seventh, as Ethan Varricchione and Jacob Stong hit home runs for the Chargers, but the Nittany Lions scored once in the bottom of the inning, and three more times in the eighth to pull away, and force a game three on Monday.
 
Inside the Box Score: Pinkney, Varricchione, and Stong each had two hits in game two, as Pinkney was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Stong was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI…Naylor had a hit and RBI in game two, while Hunt was 1-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI…Brian Coburn took the loss for the Chargers, as he allowed nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings…Nick Bair, Colin Brubaker, and James Toney also pitched for the Chargers in game two.
 
News & Notes: Lancaster Bible is now 6-27 all-time against Penn St. Harrisburg, and 1-5 against the Nittany Lions this season…In 38 2/3 innings this season, High's earned run average is just 2.09, and he is 4-3 overall…Stong's save was the first of his career, and second for the Chargers this season…The Chargers played both games without Head Coach Frank DiFilippo who could not be at the games due to COVID-19 protocols…Varricchione is hitting .397 this season with a 1.249 OPS and 20 RBI.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible and Penn St. Harrisburg will meet in a deciding game three on Monday at 1 p.m. in Middletown, Pa.