Lancaster Bible 11, Penn St. Berks 3

Penn St. Berks Starters
1. Gramignano ss, 2. Templin 2b, 3. Trovinger lf, 4. Evans dh, 5. Reeser 3b, 6. Amerine c, 7. Ewert cf, 8. Graybill rf, 9. Bergeman 1b and 10. Berkel p

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

How it Happened
The Lancaster Bible College baseball team improved to 3-1 in United East play, defeating Penn St. Berks by a score of 11-3 on Friday, March 25.

The first three innings of the contest featured superb pitching on both ends, with neither team able to plate a run. The Chargers (8-10 Overall, 3-1 United East) struck first in the top of the fourth inning. Jaden Pinkney and Ethan Varricchione led off the inning with back-to-back singles, then Tyler Cunningham knocked a single up the middle and Pinkney scored on a throwing error. Harrison Hobdy followed when he reached on a single that scored Varricchione. Cunningham scored on the next play with a single from Adam Naylor. After Naylor stole second base, James Toney hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Hobdy from third. The Lions (6-6 Overall, 2-2 United East) tacked on a run in the bottom half of the frame, but LBC went into the fifth inning with a three-run lead.

The Chargers started another rally in the fifth inning. Blake Greenly walked to lead off the inning, then Varricchione doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Cunningham followed with a triple down the right field line to extend the LBC lead to 6-1. Hobdy then hit a hard ground ball that allowed Cunningham to score. The Chargers' lead grew again in the top of the sixth inning, beginning with Thade Hauge taking a pitch to the body. After Hauge advanced to third, Greenly singled through the left side to bring him in and give LBC a 8-1 lead heading into the seventh.

After Penn St. Berks shortened the lead to five runs, LBC put the game away in the last three innings. Hobdy and Naylor drew walks in the seventh inning, then a throwing error allowed Hobdy to score for the second time. The eighth inning saw Varricchione get hit by a pitch and steal a base, then advance to third on a flyout. Much to his surprise, a balk from the pitcher allowed him to score and extend the lead to seven runs. In the ninth inning, Toney and Greenly recorded hits to set up Pinkney for an RBI single that scored Toney. The Chargers would go on to win by a score of 11-3.

Inside the Numbers
- The Chargers were led by Tyler Cunningham, who went 2-5 including a two-run triple
- Ethan Varricchione also hit 2-5, scoring three runs
- Blake Greenly and Jaden Pinkney both recorded three hits and drove in a run
- Penn St. Berks was led by Joe Gramingnano who hit 2-5 with an RBI single
- Every member of the Chargers offense reached base in the game

On the Mound
- Starting pitcher Trevor High got the win, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits
- Matthew Shaeffer came on in relief, pitching the final 3.0 innings and holding the Lions scoreless on one hit, striking out four batters

Who's Next
The baseball team will close out the series against Penn St. Berks in a double header on Saturday, March 26 beginning at 12:00 p.m.

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