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Penn State Abington University Athletics

Penn State Abington
BSB - John Busco
8
Notre Dame (Md.) NDMU 11-20, 7-9 UEC
23
Winner Penn St.-Abington PSA 30-11, 12-4 UEC
Notre Dame (Md.) NDMU
11-20, 7-9 UEC
8
Final
23
Penn St.-Abington PSA
30-11, 12-4 UEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Notre Dame (Md.) NDMU 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 10 2
Penn St.-Abington PSA 0 0 4 2 2 4 0 11 X 23 16 2

W: Handfield, Jason (4-0) L: Matthew Murdock (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Abington Takes Game One Over Gators; Game Two Suspended Due to Darkness

Jenkintown, Pa. – The Penn State Abington baseball team is three outs away from advancing to the United East Conference (UEC) Final Four but the Nittany Lions will have to wait one more day to clinch a spot as game two of the three-game second round series against sixth-seeded Notre Dame of Maryland University was called due to darkness. 
 
The third-seeded Nittany Lions won game one, 23-8, and currently leads 19-18 in the top of the ninth inning of game two which will resume Saturday at 12 p.m.  If Abington holds on to win the series will end with the Nittany Lions advancing two games to zero over the Gators.  However, if Notre Dame comes back and wins game two then both teams will face off in a third and decisive game immediately following the suspended game.
 
Game 1 Score: Penn State Abington 23, Notre Dame 8
WP: Jason Handfield (4-0) | LP: Matthew Murdock (1-1)
Game 2 Score: Penn State Abington 19, Notre Dame 18 (Game Suspended in Top 9th)
Records: Penn State Abington (30-11, 12-4 UEC) | Notre Dame (11-20, 7-9 UEC)
Location: Jenkintown, Pa. (Alverthorpe Park)
 
How It Happened (Game 1)

* Abington erased a 7-0 deficit and scored 23 of the game's next 24 runs in the game one rout of the Gators.  The Nittany Lions began their comeback with a four-run third inning.  Freshman John Busco drove in the team's first run with a double down the left field line before junior Akira Nakamura connected on his first home run of the season.  Nakamura blasted a three-run shot over the right field fence to make it a 7-4 game.
 
* Notre Dame added a run in the top of the fourth to make the score 8-4.  However, Abington chipped away even further with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Juniors Domenic Lotruglio and Donato Incollingo each drove in a run to bring the score to 8-6.
 
* Junior Nathan Schurga tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out two-run base hit that drove in freshman Jaxon Horvath and senior Benjamin Gagnon.  The Nittany Lions grabbed their first lead of the game in the sixth after Busco led the inning off with a home run.  Two batters later, Incollingo connected on a two-run blast to make the score 11-8.  Later in the inning, sophomore Aqual Chapman drove in senior Zach Bauers with a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring in the inning.
 
* In the bottom of the seventh, Abington briefly expanded its lead to 14-8 after Incollingo connected on what would have been his second home run of the game.  However, after crossing the plate, it was determined the bat used was illegal, thus nullifying the home run and ending the inning with the score set back to 12-8.
 
* Abington blew the game wide open in the eighth inning as the Nittany Lions plated 11 runners to increase their lead to 23-8.  The team had 16 batters come to the plate and drew eighth walks as well as having two batters hit by pitches in the frame.  Chapman had a two-run double in the inning and also pushed across a run after drawing a bases loaded walk. 
 
* Freshman Jason Handfield (4-0) was the pitcher of record for the Nittany Lions as he pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless relief. Handfield allowed just one hit and struck out two batters in his appearance.
 
Inside the Box Score (Game 1)
 
* Abington had four players drive in four runs, including Busco who finished the game 4-for-6 with three runs and four RBI.  His sixth inning home run marked the 11th of the season.
 
* Incollingo went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI.  His sixth inning homer was his conference leading 15th of the season and the 28th of his career.
 
* Chapman recorded a career-high four RBI in the game as he went 2-for-3 with three runs and two doubles.
 
* Schurga recorded a season-high four RBI as he finished 3-for-5 with a run.
 
* Lotruglio finished 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI.  He also drew three walks.
 
* Nakamura's third inning home run marked the first of his Abington career.  He finished the game 1-for-5 with three runs and three RBI.
 
* Sophomore Cade Michalski pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out the game.
 
* For Notre Dame, Chase Cichocki went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI, while Brennan Deremeik finished 2-for-4 with a run.
 
Next Up
Both teams will resume game two on Saturday beginning with the top of the ninth inning.  If Abington holds on to win, the Nittany Lions takes the best of three series and advance to the United East Final Four.  However, if Notre Dame rallies to take game two, both teams will then face off in a third and decisive game with the winner advancing to the Final Four portion of the tournament.  

 
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