Lancaster Bible College Athletics

The #4-seed Lancaster Bible College Baseball team continued play in the United East Final Four on Saturday evening, playing into Sunday because of weather delays as they fell to #2-seed Penn St. Harrisburg 17-4 before prevailing over #3-seed Penn St. Abington 9-5 to advance to Sunday's championship game. The Chargers move to 21-17 overall while the Harrisburg Lions improve to 32-12 overall and the Abington Lions end their season at 32-13 overall.
 
Game 1: 4-17 Loss
 
How it Happened:
Penn St. Harrisburg jumped on the board right away with a four-run 1st inning, seizing the lead early on. After the Chargers loaded the bases but could not score, the Lions added another four runs in the 3rd as they continued to keep the LBC offense at bay. Malachi Sloane (Jr.) had a double for LBC in the 4th and the Chargers had two hits in the 5th, but still could not bring any runners home as Harrisburg extended their lead to 11-0 through five innings. The Lions continued their scoring as they led 17-0 heading into the final inning, but LBC had some fight in the 9th. Gabe Reif (Fr.) grounded out as Daniel Peña (Fr.) scored to end the shutout, then Dylan Witkowski (Sr.) launched a 3-run home run for another boost before the Lions closed out the win 17-4 to advance to the championship game tomorrow and send the Chargers to an elimination game.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers scored four runs on nine hits and four RBI with two errors, while the Lions had 17 runs on 19 hits and 13 RBI with no errors
- Dylan Witkowski led the Chargers with four hits on 4-5 from the plate and three RBI, hitting a three-run homer in the 9th
- Malachi Sloane went 1-4 with a double
- The Lions were led by Bradyn Eckert (W, 3-1) with 7.0 shutout innings on the mound on seven hits and one walk while striking out six batters

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Game 2: 13-10 Win
 
How it Happened:
The Chargers loaded the bases in the 1st inning as Dylan Witkowski and Evan Sareyka (Sr.) each hit singles, but the Lions escaped without allowing a run. Starting pitcher Trevor Bertsch (Fr.) struck out the side in the 2nd inning for the Chargers, then in the 4th inning the Chargers used hits by Tanner Smith (Sr.) and Logan Grimm (Fr.) to load the bases again, but Penn St. Abington held again to keep LBC off the board. The Lions broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 4th on a RBI-single, then added two more to take a 3-0 lead. The Chargers had an immediate response as Witkowski led off the 5th with a double and Sareyka drew a walk, then Smith got the Chargers on the board with a single to right that scored Witkowski to make it 3-1. Malachi Sloane followed that up with a RBI-groundout to score Sareyka, then Smith scored to tie the game up at 3-3 as Everett Bell (So.) drove him in on a single up the middle. With two on and two out, CJ Peterson (So.) delivered as he blasted a three-run home run to left field to put LBC on top 6-3. To keep it going, Sareyka delivered a two-RBI triple to right field to cap an eight-run inning for the Chargers and put them up five runs. Abington responded with two in the bottom frame, but the Chargers added another in the sixth as Bell scored on a wild pitch to get the LBC lead back to four at 9-5. The Chargers held the Lions to just one hit over the final three innings as they closed out the game by the same score and staved off elimination, sending Abington home and moving on to the United East Championship.
 
By the Numbers:
- The Chargers scored nine runs on 12 hits and eight RBI with no errors, while the Lions had five runs on seven hits and four RBI with no errors
- Dylan Witkowski had a game-high three hits for the Chargers, going 3-4 with a walk and two runs scored
- CJ Peterson had the game-winning RBI as he hit a three-run, go-ahead homer in the 5th
- Evan Sareyka added two hits and two RBI with a walk and a run scored
- Tanner Smith and Everett Bell each had two hits with two RBI and Logan Grimm added two hits as well
- Trevor Bertsch threw 4.0 innings as the starter, giving up three earned runs on five hits and three walks and striking out five, while Evan Sareyka (W, 5-1) earned the win, throwing the final 5.0 innings with two earned runs on two hits and two walks with one strikeout
- The Lions were led by Jaxon Horvath on 3-4 from the plate and two runs scored, while John Busco and Nathan Schurga each had two RBI
 
Information to Know:
The Chargers are now 1-5 in the postseason all-time against Penn St. Harrisburg and improve to 2-1 against Penn St. Abington in the playoffs. This will be the Chargers' first-ever appearance in the United East Championship game as Lancaster Bible extends their program record for most playoff wins with four this year, set to play in their sixth postseason game tomorrow. The Chargers have tied the program record for wins in a single season with 21, sitting at 21-17 overall and tying both the 2016 and 2024 seasons for their most single-season victories. The Chargers' win over Penn St. Abington to end the day was their first official win in an elimination game in the conference playoffs all-time. Dylan Witkowski extended his program record by homering in his fourth straight playoff game against Penn St. Harrisburg, also extending his program record with 230 career base hits and counting as LBC's all-time leader.
 
Up Next:
The Chargers will compete in their first-ever United East Championship game on Sunday, May 10 at 11:00 a.m. against #2-seed Penn St. Harrisburg, seeking to force an extra game later in the day and a chance for the conference title.