Box Score Abington, Pa. - Senior pitcher Mark McCouch spun a complete-game shutout earlier, and the Penn State Abington baseball squad got plenty of timely hits en route to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Griffins of Gwynedd-Mercy College. Junior A.J. Vagliani led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, while three other players picked up two hits apiece for the Blue and White.
 
Gwynedd-Mercy (9-6, 4-1 CSAC) had one of their best chances at getting any runs in the top of the first inning. With two outs and a batter on first after being hit by a McCouch pitch, the next batter sent a single into left center field, putting runners on the corners with two outs. McCouch buckled down however, getting a weak popup to third base to end the inning and any threat of scoring. The Griffins continued to struggle against Abington's leader on the mound, not advancing a runner past first base over the next five innings.
 
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions (9-13, 0-0 NEAC) offense got itself going in the bottom of the third inning. Vagliani started things off by staying in the box to take a hit-by-pitch, and Dustin Kology followed that up with a single to right. McCouch came up next, and did a great job of helping his own cause, laying down a beautiful sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher to move the runners up to second and third. The heart of the order came up next and plated a couple of runs for the Blue and White. First, Bill Parave grounded out to short, bringing Vagliani home and putting the Nittany Lions on the board first. Then, Mike Kerns rocked a single into left center that brought Kology home as well, and when the inning finally ended, Abington was up 2-0.
 
The Nittany Lions tacked on single runs in the fourth, sixth, and eighth innings to increase their lead. In the bottom of the fourth, it was Pat Moran who came up with the key hit, a single that caught the chalk on the left field line and brought home Tom Ditro from second base. Moran was thrown out trying to stretch it to second base, but his RBI gave Penn State Abington a 3-0 lead. An unearned run in the bottom of the sixth made it 4-0, and then in the bottom of the eighth, Vagliani laced one of his two doubles on the day deep off the right center field wall to increase the Nittany Lions lead to 5-0.
 
However, in reality, the day was all about McCouch on the mound. In the top of the sixth, the Griffins finally got a runner into scoring position for the first time since the first inning. However, McCouch induced a weak ground ball to short to get out of the inning. In the seventh, he got the first two batters to fly out to left before striking out the next batter on three pitches, all looking.
 
The eighth inning was where Gwynedd-Mercy would have their best shot at getting on the scoreboard at all. An error allowed the leadoff batter to make it all the way to second base. After a groundout and a walk, a flyout deep to center field allowed the runner at second to move up 90 feet to third. However, once again McCouch worked out of the jam, getting one more flyout to center to end the inning. In the top of the ninth, he got a fly ball to right and a strikeout before allowing a single into right field. However, McCouch completed the game and the shutout in the next at bat, inducing yet another flyout to center to close the game.
 
McCouch's effort was arguably one of the best on the season so far for the Blue and White. The senior righty went all nine innings, giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Vagliani led the offensive effort, assisted by Kology, Ditro, and Moran, each of whom had two hits and at least one run on the day. With the win, the Nittany Lions move one step closer to evening out their record, currently sitting at 9-13. Penn State Abington will have their next chance to continue their winning ways on Wednesday, when they face off at home against Immaculata. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm.