Crown Rallies Past Brandywine In Florida Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Crown (Minn.) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
|
Penn State Brandywine | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 1 |
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Penn State Brandywine led 6-3 through four innings, but Crown College scored eight-straight runs over the next three innings as the Lions dropped a 12-7 decision in their first game of the RussMatt Invitational Saturday afternoon.
A two-out, two-run double gave the Storm a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the second, but Brandywine struck for three runs in their second at-bat to take the lead.
Back-to-back singles from Kyle Oechsle (Coopersburg, Pa./Palisades) and Nick Wright (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and a batter hit by a pitch loaded the bases with no one out. Mike DeGirolamo (Fredrick, Md./Fredrick) delivered a run-scoring single to put Brandywine on the board and Hayden Altimari (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Anthony) followed with a two-run single, his first of three hits on the afternoon, putting the Lions on top.
Crown evened the score with a third inning run, but Wright's single scored Tyler Brooks (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) to once again give Brandywine the lead in the bottom of the frame.
Brandywine added to its edge in the fourth when DeGirolamo led off with a double and scored on Altimari's base hit. Altimari later came around to score on a groundout, making the count 6-3.
Crown evened the count by plating three runs in the fifth inning and then took the lead for good in the seventh. Four of the Storm's first five batters hit safely as Crown pushed five runs across.
In addition to his three hits, Altimari knocked in three runs and reached base safely in all five at-bats, while Wright also tallied three hits and drove in a run. DeGirolamo produced two hits and Oechsle recorded two knocks and two RBI.
Connor Thompson (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) struck out six in 4.1 innings, while Ty Coccia (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) fanned three in two frames. Greg Adams (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) struck out two, but allowed five runs in 2.2 innings of relief and took the loss.
Brandywine (2-4) is back in action Monday for a doubleheader against New Jersey City at 3:45 PM.
