Baseball 5/10/2023 12:00:00 AM

Abington to Face Penn College on Day One of United East Tournament

Abington, Pa. – The third-seeded Penn State Abington baseball team will face second-seeded Penn College on day one of the United East Conference (UEC) Tournament on Thursday afternoon at the Penn State Harrisburg Baseball Field in Middletown, Pa. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. The first game of the day will feature top-seed and host Harrisburg versus fourth-seeded Lancaster Bible College (12 p.m.).

How to Watch
Fans that can't make it out to Harrisburg's campus can catch all the action live with a free web steam that can be accessed by clicking, here.

Championship Gear
The United East has announced that it will be opening its 2023 Online Store for four different spring sports. The store will feature gear for men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, softball and baseball. It will be open from May 3rd to May 17th. The shop will include two options for all four sports sports, including a white tee-shirt with the Championship logo as well as a dry fit gray shirt with a United East Champions logo. Championship items are only available online and will not be available at the site of the Championship. Click to visit the online store.

About Penn State Abington (18-19, 13-8 UEC)
The Nittany Lions wrapped up conference play with a 13-8 record to secure the third seed in this year's tournament. The Abington offense has been lethal to opposing pitchers this year with three players ranked in the top-five among the conference leaders in home runs. Juniors Justin Fogel and Tim Petrucelli are one and two respectively with Fogel leading the conference with 14 homers and Petrucelli currently with 13. Senior Zach Morales is tied for fifth with 11 home runs.

Fogel, the nation's leader in hitting with an impressive .511 average, also leads the conference in hits (61), slugging percentage (.969), on-base percentage (.561) and OPS (1.530). He's also second in the United East with 50 RBI as Morales tops that category with 55.

The pitching staff is led by senior Brandon Hightower who made a team-high 11 starts this season. Hightower had a career season finishing the regular season tops in the conference with 66 strikeouts while winning three games. Redshirt sophomore Alex Margot is also among the conference leaders in K's as he ranks fourth with 48. Margot also won three games during the regular season and held opponents to a conference-low .189 batting average. Sophomore Greg Wiley enters the postseason with a team-best five wins; tied for third most in the conference.

About Penn College (20-18, 14-6 UEC)
The Wildcats are led by Brian Robison and Quinn Hanafin who are both hitting over .350 through the regular season. Robison is currently batting .393 with 42 hits, three home runs and 27 RBI. Hanafin has a .358 average with a team-high 16 doubles. Tyler Rudolph leads the Wildcats with nine home runs and 32 RBI. On the mound, Chance Webb leads the team with six wins to go along with 45 strikeouts.

Abington in the Postseason
The Nittany Lions are making their 11^th trip to the United East Tournament and seventh straight with the exception of the 2020 season when the tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Abington is 14-18 in the postseason with championship game appearances in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The team won the title in 2019.

All-Time Series vs. Penn College
Abington is 16-9 versus Penn College in the all-time series dating back to the 2015 season. This will mark the eighth meeting between the two teams in the postseason. The Wildcats are 2-5 versus the Nittany Lions in the postseason.

What's Next
The winner of Abington/Penn College will face the winner of the Harrisburg/Lancaster Bible game for a match up at 12 p.m. on Friday. Prior to that game, the loser of both day one games will play an elimination game at 9 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Justin Fogel: C/OF; 6' 1"; Junior; L/R

#17 Brandon Hightower: P; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

#28 Zach Morales: IF; 6' 1"; Senior; R/R

#23 Tim Petrucelli: OF; 6' 0"; Junior; L/R

#5 Greg Wiley: P; 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/L

#34 Alex Margot: P; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L

Players Mentioned

#10 Justin Fogel
: 6' 1"; Junior; L/R
: C/OF

#17 Brandon Hightower
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: P

#28 Zach Morales
: 6' 1"; Senior; R/R
: IF

#23 Tim Petrucelli
: 6' 0"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#5 Greg Wiley
: 5' 10"; Sophomore; L/L
: P

#34 Alex Margot
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; L/L
: P