Jenkintown, Pa. – The Penn State Abington baseball team scored six unanswered runs late to defeat Delaware Valley University, 9-7, in a non-conference contest on Wednesday afternoon at Alverthorpe Park. The win marked the team's 20th of the season as the Nittany Lions improved to 20-8 on the year. It's the first time since 2022 that Abington has reached the 20-win mark in a season.
Score: Penn State Abington 9, Delaware Valley 7
WP: Aaron Clark (1-0) | LP: Pat Barrett (1-1) | S: Jason Handfield (2)
Records: Penn State Abington (20-8) | Delaware Valley (12-16)
Location: Jenkintown, Pa. (Alverthorpe Park)
How It Happened
* Abington trailed 7-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. With two runners on and two outs in the frame, senior Zach Bauers came through with a clutch hit that scored both freshman John Busco and junior Donato Incollingo. Busco and Incollingo each reached on base hits.
* In the bottom of the eighth, the Nittany Lions loaded the bases and once again faced a situation with runners in scoring position but two outs in the inning. Incollingo, fresh off recording his 100th career RBI the day prior, added to his career total with a two-run single to left to tie the game at 7-7. Bauers then came through with another clutch hit driving in junior Akira Nakamura to give Abington its first lead of the game at 8-7. Freshman Jaxon Horvath gave Abington some insurance with a run scoring single to center to drive in Incollingo to make the score, 9-7.
* Freshman Jason Handfield entered in the top of the ninth to close out the game for the Nittany Lions. After the first two batters reached base, Handfield settled down and struck out the next two as Delaware Valley came down to its final out. However, Handfield hit the next batter to load the bases for the Aggies. With the potential go-ahead run at first, Handfield struck out Kody Boyer for the final out to seal the win for the Nittany Lions.
Inside the Box Score
* Bauers finished 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI. His four hits tied his season-high.
* Incollingo went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. With his two runs scored, Incollingo is two runs shy of 100 for his career. Speaking of 100, he now has 102 career RBI moving him into a tie for sixth with former standout Justin Fogel (2021-23).
* Horvath went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
* Nakamura reached base three times as he went 1-for-3 with two runs and two walks.
* The Abington bullpen pitched 7.2 innings of relief holding the Aggies offense to just two runs while scattering four hits. Matt Avery went 3.2 innings with two strikeouts, while Brogan Burns pitched two innings with one strikeout. Aaron Clark, who was the pitcher of record, earned his first win of the season after pitching a scoreless eighth inning. Handfield pitched a scoreless ninth while striking out three to pick up his second save of the year.
* For Delaware Valley, Gavin Migliori went 2-for-5 with a home run while scoring twice. Braedyn Kormanic went 1-for-4 with three RBI.
All-Time Series
Today marked just the third meeting between Abington and Delaware Valley since the start of the 2022 season. The Nittany Lions are now 3-0 versus the Aggies in the all-time series. Abington defeated DelVal back in March, 15-6.
Next Up
Abington returns to action on Friday, April 10 as the Nittany Lions travel to face Rosemont College in a United East contest. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
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