Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Utica, N.Y. - The Penn State Abington baseball squad split a doubleheader earlier this afternoon against the Wildcats of SUNYIT. The Nittany Lions came back from a big deficit in game one to earn a 7-6 victory before falling in 10 innings in game two by a 3-4 score. Kevin Faber earned the win in relief and Dan Hill added two RBIs and two runs to help the Blue and White split the two game set.
 
Abington (12-15, 3-1 NEAC) fell behind early in game one, courtesy of back-to-back three run innings from SUNYIT. In the bottom of the second, the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out for the bottom of their lineup. Devin Frye came through with a sacrifice fly to right field to score one run before Ryan Wegner added the big hit in the inning, a two-run double that made the score 3-0 in favor of the Wildcats. All three runs in the inning were unearned for starter Connor MacFarlene, as the Nittany Lions would've been out of the inning if not for an earlier error.
 
The Nittany Lions were able to chip away at their deficit when they came to the plate next in the top of the third. With one out, Chris Hunter singled and advanced to second base on a throwing error by Wildcats pitcher Joseph Szepe. Dustin Kology came up next, and came through with an RBI single, scoring Hunter and advancing to second on an error. The senior center fielder then stole third base, and after a flyout to center, Bill Parave came through with an RBI single to make the score 2-3 in favor of the home team. The Nittany Lions were actually able to load the bases after that with back-to-back walks, but Szepe was able to get out of the jam without any further damage by getting a fielder's choice groundout to short.
 
The Wildcats (6-9, 1-1 NEAC) were able to extend their lead in their next at bats, once again touching up MacFarlene for three more runs. This time, a pair of walks were what came back to hurt the senior lefty, as with two outs, Joeseph O'Ro came through with an RBI double and Phil Mascite a two-RBI single to re-up the SUNYIT lead to 6-2. Both squads then traded empty half-innings before the Nittany Lions began to chip slowly away at their deficit.
 
The Nittany Lions got a cheap run in the top of the fifth to start their comeback. With one out, Mark McCouch hustled out an infield single, and then promptly stole second and third base. After Parave flew out to right, it seemed the Blue and White may come away empty-handed, but McCouch continued his heads up play, tearing home on a wild pitch to score and make the tally 3-6 for SUNYIT. In the top of the sixth, Abington got just a little bit closer. This time, a walk and two hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for Pat Moran, who did ground into a double play, but still got the run in to close the deficit to 4-6.
 
Kevin Faber entered the game for the Nittany Lions in the bottom of the sixth and quickly sent the Wildcats back to the dugout, including two strikeouts. This brought the Blue and White up to the plate in the top of the seventh for their last chance at tying or taking the lead. Kology got things off to a good start with a single, but a flyout and a strikeout put Abington down two runs with just one more out left. Mike Kerns came to the plate next and kept the Nittany Lions' hopes alive with a single, setting the table to Dan Hill. Hill came through in a big way, drilling a double to right field to score both runs and knot the game at 6-6. Then, head coach Joe Pavlow sent Ted Smallwood to the plate to pinch hit. Smallwood, a transfer into the Abington program this season, came through with the biggest hit of his short Nittany Lions career thus far, lacing a single that scored Hill and gave Abington their firs lead of the day. Smallwood was later caught stealing to end the inning, but all that matter was that the 7-6 lead was now in the hands of the Blue and White.
 
Faber came back on to finish out the game, and finish he did. The lanky junior struck out the first two batters he faced before getting a groundout to shut down the Wildcats. Faber recorded four strikeouts in just two innings pitched in earning the victory, while Hill went a perfect two-for-two from the plate with two RBIs and two runs, including the game winner courtesy of Smallwood.
 
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Game two ended up being almost a total reversal of game one for both teams. This time, it was Abington who jumped out in front, with Mark McCouch scoring the first run of the game in the first inning on a bases loaded error. The Blue and White added another run off a Dustin Kology sac fly in the second inning, scoring Will Erskine from third.
 
Meanwhile, McCouch was pitching brilliantly. The senior pitcher/second baseman got through four strong innings allowing just four hits while striking out two. However, the Wildcats finally started to get some hits in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and one out, a fielder's choice scored the first SUNYIT run of the game before Anthony Rago and Joeseph O'Ro came through with back-to-back RBI singles to put the home squad up 3-2.
 
Déjà vu struck in the top of the seventh, as the Nittany Lions managed to tie the game up once again in their final chance. As most rallies often begin in baseball, Fran Caruso got things started by drawing a walk. Chris Hunter came in to run, and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Kology came to the plate in prime position to help the Nittany Lion cause, and the veteran senior did not disappoint. A single to left field was all it took to score Hunter and tie the game up at three runs apiece. It appeared as if the Blue and White might even take the lead, but Parave was unlucky enough to line into a double play to end the inning.
 
Both teams traded empty innings back and forth without many quality scoring chances until SUNYIT came to bat in the bottom of the tenth. All it took was a double from O'Ro and a single from Connor Passa to end the game, giving the Wildcats the 4-3 walkoff win. Kology had the best game two performance at the plate, going one-for-four with two RBIs, while McCouch finished with four and two-thirds innings pitched and no earned runs. The Nittany Lions move to 3-1 in the conference and get their next opportunity to continue their chase for the conference title when they face off against Keuka at home next Saturday. Game one of the doubleheader is set to begin at 1:00 pm at Alverthorpe Park.