The Penn State Abington baseball team had a tough time making headway as they fell to #23-ranked Shenandoah University by a score of 32-8 Thursday afternoon. With the loss, the Nittany Lions slipped to 4-5 on the season, while Shenandoah improved to 9-2 overall with the win.

For the Nittany Lions, while the loss was a tough pill to swallow, it will become a reminder for the rest of the season of how quickly the game can get out of control without good defense and hitting power, a slight inkling that a true combination of teamwork will make a team successful.

Catcher AJ Vagliani went 3-for-4 at the plate and plated a run as teammate Bill Parave posted an RBI after going 2-for-5. Will Erskine (2-for-3) posted two RBIs and scored two runs for the Nittany Lions as teammate Dustin Kology (2-for-4) plated a run before scoring a run of his own.

Shenandoah University jumped out to a two run lead after the first before Erskine singled up the middle to plate Vagliani at home. On the next batter, Kology posted a hit in the infield, bringing Pat Moran home from third base to tie up the game at two apiece after the second.
The Hornets jumped out to an early lead as Greg Beran – who went 3-for-6 at the plate – started the damage as he knocked the ball out of the park. A few batters later, Jay Donofrio and Jake Pendergraft each homered to close out the third inning with a 20-2 lead for Shenandoah University.

Despite the 22-run margin after the 4^th, Abington kept their head in the game and continued scoring runs throughout the game.
Parave singled through the left side of the field, rounding Kology home from third. Tom Ditro hit the ball into play, taking the opportunity to deliver a run for the Nittany Lions to trail 28-3 after five innings.

The Hornets would tack on three more in the 6^th and an additional run in the 7^th before Abington managed to score three extra runs to end the game with a 32-8 decision.

The Nittany Lions will round out the spring break trip tomorrow as they face Lynchburg College for the 2 p.m. start.

You can catch the action on Live Stats and on the live video webcast, courtesy of Lynchburg College.