ASTON, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine and Central Penn played to a non-conference baseball doubleheader split Tuesday night at Maple Zone as the visiting Knights claimed game one 8-1 and the homestanding Lions earned a 6-4 victory in game two.
Game One: Central Penn 8, Penn State Brandywine 1
Central Penn scored during the first five innings and in six-of-seven frames overall en route to winning the opener.
The Knights owned a 7-0 lead before Brandywine got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Owen Lawton (Glenmoore, Pa./Downingtown East) and Evan Abegg (Commerce City, Colo./Prairie View) recorded consecutive singles before pinch-runner Lamar Thomas (Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Performing Arts) scored on Dalton Palmer's (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) groundout.
Three Lions recorded two-hit efforts to account for Brandywine's six overall knocks. Lawton and Abegg each provided two hits, as did Nick Wright (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), who also stole a base.
Matt Brucato (Jamesburg, N.J./Monroe Township) pitched the first 3.2 innings and struck out one, while Toby Skeans (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) did not allow an earned run in 2.1 innings of work and Jack Hedger (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) fanned two during the seventh inning.
Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 6, Central Penn 4
Brandywine overcame an early 2-0 hole by scoring four times during the second inning to take the lead for good.
Keaton Janiszewski (Dunedin, Fla./Keswick Christian) got the Lions on the board with an RBI single. The Lions took the lead following back-to-back run-scoring groundouts from Shawn Webb (Drexel Hill, Pa./Bonner-Prendie) and Palmer, while Mike DeGirolamo (Fredrick, Md./Fredrick) delivered the fourth score with a base hit.
Central Penn closed to within one in the third, but Brandywine responded with a pair of insurance runs during the bottom half of the frame thanks to catcher's interference and a Central Penn error.
Wright posted his second two-hit game of the day, while Janiszewski also collected a pair of hits. Brandywine stole seven bases, including two each from Abegg and Webb.
Justin Bray (Christiana, Pa./Octorara) pitched the first two innings, allowing two runs and striking out two, to earn his first win. Ty Coccia (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) worked the next 2.1 frames, fanning four, while Ben Norris (Wilmington, Del./Mt. Pleasant) recorded his first save. Norris pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, recording one strikeout.
Brandywine (15-14, 8-4 PSUAC) opens a three-game series with Penn State Hazleton Friday at 7:00 PM.
