Lancaster Bible 18, Penn College 17

Penn College Starters
1. Wagner cf, 2. Carles lf, 3. Price dh, 4. Rudolph 1b, 5. Dick 3b, 6. Gustkey c, 7. Robison ss, 8. Nytz 2b, 9. Smith rf and 10. Webb p

LBC Starters
1. Blake Greenly 3b, 2. Jaden Pinkney cf, 3. Brian Coburn ss, 4. Ethan Varricchione dh, 5. Tyler Cunningham lf, 6. Harrison Hobdy 2b, 7. Adam Naylor 1b, 8. Thade Hauge c, 9. Kaden Hunt rf and 10. Andrew Workman p

How it Happened
The Lancaster Bible College baseball team won an offensive slugfest to close out their opening United East series, defeating Penn College by a score of 18-17 on Saturday, March 19.

After Penn College (7-8 Overall, 1-2 United East) got on the board first, the Chargers (7-8 Overall, 2-1 United East) responded in the bottom of the second inning. Tyler Cunningham led off the inning by crushing a solo home run to center field, tying the game at one. Adam Naylor doubled down the right field line to put two runners on base, and Kaden Hunt sent them both home on a 2 RBI to give LBC the lead. In the next at-bat, Blake Greenly sent a two-run home run over the left field fence. The Chargers carried a four-run advantage into the third inning.

The Wildcats hit a pair of homers in the third inning and then took a 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth, but Lancaster Bible stormed back in front in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Brian Coburn and Ethan Varricchione began the inning with back-to-back singles. Then, Cunningham launched his second home run of the game, putting LBC back in front. The rally continued when Naylor drew a walk and Thade Hauge was hit by a pitch, putting two more runners on base. Hunt struck once again, hitting a single up the right side to bring Naylor home. After a double steal put runners in scoring position, Greenly cracked a three-run home run over the fence, extending the Lancaster Bible lead to 12-6. Coburn joined the home run party two batters later, hitting a solo shot for his first home run of the game. Varricchione then launched a double and Cunningham drew a walk, with Harrison Hobdy poked a single into the outfield, scoring Varricchione. The scoring run would end there for LBC, but the Chargers tacked on another run in the sixth inning with Greenly connecting on his third home run of the game, putting LBC up 15-6.

After a two-run home run in the sixth, pitching woes in the seventh inning led to a large comeback for Penn College, with the Wildcats scoring seven runs in the inning to tie the game at 15. The Chargers used three different pitchers in the inning, stopping the run on an inning-ending double play. Penn College took a 16-15 lead in the top of the eighth, but this would be their last lead of the game. Hauge led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single, and Greenly was intentionally walked. With two runners on base, Brian Coburn delivered a three-run bomb to give the Chargers an 18-16 advantage. The Wildcats tried to push back in the final frame, but Greenly closed out the game on the mound to secure the one-run victory.

Inside the Numbers
- Blake Greenly led the offensive charge for LBC, going 3-4 with a career-high three home runs and six RBIs
- Tyler Cunningham also had a powerful bat, batting 3-5 with two home runs and four RBIs
- Brian Coburn rounded out the home run party, hitting two of his own including a three-run shot that gave LBC the lead in the eighth inning
- Kaden Hunt recorded two hits and drove in three runs
- The Wildcats were led by Shane Price who hit 3-5 with two home runs and 3 RBIs
- The Chargers had the bats working, winning the hits battle with 20 hits

On the Mound
- Andrew Workman got the start in game three, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing six runs, four earned, on nine hits and striking out five batters
- Matthew Shaeffer came on in relief, pitching 1.1 innings and allowing six runs, striking out one
- Logan Kline followed Shaeffer, with three runs coming across the plate
- The win went to Brian Coburn, throwing 2.0 innings and allowing just one run on two hits
- Blake Greenly got the save for the Chargers, also allowing one run on two hits, closing out the win

Who's Next
The baseball team will travel to face Gettysburg College on Tuesday, March 22 at 3:30 p.m.

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