Keuka Park, N.Y. - The Penn State Abington baseball squad went on the road this weekend to play a three-game series against Keuka, and the Nittany Lions got things started with a split of the Saturday doubleheader. The Blue and White exploded for a 10-2 win in game one before the offensive tap dried up and Penn State Abington found themselves on the short end of a tough-luck 1-0 loss in game two. Diego Melendez got the victory on the mound and Mike Scaringelli provided a good bit of the offense, going two-for-three with three RBIs and two runs scored in game one. Senior Kevin Faber pitched a tremendous game two, giving up just seven hits and a walk while striking out seven Storm batters. However, Keuka starter Kyle McVannan was equally strong, allowing five hits and no walks over six innings while striking out four.

Penn State Abington (8-14-1, 2-6 NEAC) actually fell behind early in game one, as Keuka (8-9, 2-4 NEAC) scratched across a run in the first inning on a fielder's choice groundout to short. However, the Nittany Lions got that run back plus another in the top of the second. Scaringelli managed to score from second on a throwing error by the Keuka pitcher. In the next at-bat, Michael Dunlap lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring A.J. Vagliani and putting the Blue and White in front 2-1. Keuka did tie the game back up in the bottom of the inning on an Abington error, but the late innings of game one belonged to the Penn State Abington offense. In the sixth, Scaringelli came to the plate with runners on first and second and sent a double deep to right field to score the lead runner and put the Nittany Lions in front 3-2. Later in the frame, a double from Vagliani scored two more runners, and then a single from Jason Roselli plated Vagliani. A passed ball allowd the final run of the inning to cross the dish, putting the Blue and White in front 7-2. Then, in the seventh, a wild pitch scored Tom Ditro, and then Scaringelli got his other two RBIs on a single to center, capping the scoring at 10 runs and handing Melendez the 10-2, complete game victory. Once again, Faber pitched a tremendous game two, but a lone run scored in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Nittany Lions were unable to do anything in the seventh to extend the game. Keuka, thus, was able to come away with the split and limit Penn State Abington to the lone victory on the day.

The Nittany Lions now sit at 8-14-1 on the season and 2-6 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play. They'll get a chance to take another step forward in the conference when they hit the diamond tomorrow for the rubber match against Keuka. Game time is set for 12:00 pm. The team's next home contest comes next Wednesday, April 16^th, as the Nittany Lions will host Lancaster Bible College for a doubleheader at Alverthorpe Park, with game one slated to begin at 1:00 pm.