Ben Mutz
Ben Mutz

Brandywine Plays To Split At Hazleton

HAZLETON, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine won the opener 11-7, but Penn State Hazleton rallied to win the final game of the three-game PSUAC baseball series 4-3 as the teams split a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.

Game One: Penn State Brandywine 11, Penn State Hazleton 7

Brandywine got the bats going early, scoring three runs in the second and third innings to build a 6-2 lead.

Back-to-back walks started the second inning and two batters later, Sean Donahue (Ridley, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) provided a two-run single, scoring Nick Wright (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and Joe Hurley (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). Donahue then came around to score on Ben Mutz's (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) RBI single to put Brandywine in front 3-2.

An error allowed two more runs to score one frame later before Hurley crossed home via a wild pitch, upping the margin to 6-2; however, Hazleton battled back, scoring once in the fourth and four more times in the fifth to retake the lead, 7-6.

Three-straight singles to begin the sixth loaded the bases for Brandywine. After a pair of outs, Hurley worked a walk to force in a run and tie the score. After Joey Buoni (Chester Heights, Pa./Salesianum) scored on a passed ball, Hayden Altimari (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Anthony's Prep) delivered a run-scoring single to score Hurley.

Wright's two-out RBI single in the seventh capped the scoring and Mutz struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game for the Lions.

Mutz, Buoni and Nick Kutufaris (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) all collected three hits, while Hurley added two hits and scored three runs. Buoni and Wright both crossed home twice.

Tyler Michaels (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) earned his second win against Hazleton in four days and fourth victory overall this spring after firing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Game Two: Penn State Hazleton 4, Penn State Brandywine 3

Brandywine scored single runs via Wright's RBI single and Jack Hedger's (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) run-scoring groundout during the first two innings to claim a 2-0 edge in game two.

The Lions brought a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but a pair of errors proved costly for Brandywine as Hazleton struck for three runs to vault into the lead at 4-3.

Brandywine put together a two-out rally in the seventh, pulling within one when Mutz singled in Kutufaris. Buoni's base hit put two runners on base, but a groundout ended the Lions' threat.

Mutz tallied three more hits in game two, giving him six on the day, while Donahue recorded a two-hit game.

Brandywine (12-12, 4-5 PSUAC) visits New Jersey on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Centenary College at Diamond Nation beginning at 3:30 pm.