Brandywine Locks Up East Division Title With Sunday Victories

YORK, Pa. – Needing to win both ends of its Sunday doubleheader at Penn State York to claim the Penn State University Athletic Conference East Division title, Penn State Brandywine did just that, earning a pair of triumphs by scores of 5-3.

Game One: Penn State Brandywine 5, Penn State York 3

Brandywine forced a winner-take-all game two for the division title by claiming the day's opening game by a 5-3 score.

York scored twice with two outs in the first before Brandywine got on the board for the first time during the second inning. Shawn Webb (Drexel Hill, Pa./Bonner-Prendie) singled, moved to third via error, and came around to score on a wild pitch to make the score 2-1.

The count remained the same until the fifth inning when Brandywine struck for three runs to take the lead for good. Ryan Brown (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Kyle Oechsle (Coopersburg, Pa./Palisades) followed with a double. Toby Skeans (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) brought home both base runners, scoring Brown and Oechsle with a two-base hit, before scoring on Ryan Snyder's (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) single to make the  score 4-2.

York cut the deficit to 4-3 during the bottom of the fifth, but Brandywine added an insurance run in the seventh as Skeans singled and crossed home on a double from Cam Baughman (Oxford, Pa./Oxford).

Dan Nearey (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) went the first six innings to earn his fourth victory of the spring. Nearey fanned seven York hitters, including the 100^th strikeout of his career, while yielding three runs on five hits. Snyder picked up his third save after setting York down in the seventh. Skeans and Mike DeGirolamo (Frederick, Md./Frederick) both tallied two hits to pace the offense.

Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 5, Penn State York 3

Nick Wright's (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) go-ahead three-run home run during the top of the fifth inning was the difference as Brandywine completed the sweep by winning game two 5-3.

Trailing 3-2 entering the fifth, Baughman and Evan Abegg (Commerce City, Colo./Prairie View) set the table for Wright by recording back-to-back singles to start the inning. Wright launched his second home run of the year over the fence to put the Lions on top for good.

Michael Govan (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) made the lead stand up as he set York down in order in the fifth and sixth innings. Snyder closed the door with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, recording his second save of the day and fourth of the year. Govan went 6.0 innings, tallying three strikeouts, while allowing three runs on four hits to land his second win.

Wright, Baughman and Abegg all collected two hits during the nightcap. Brown was 3-for-4 at the plate, including his second home run of the year.

Brown's solo shot briefly gave Brandywine a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning, but York scored twice during the bottom of the frame to retake the lead. The Lions plated their first run when Wright used a single to plate Baughman in the third.

Brandywine (24-12, 12-4 PSUAC) will be the No. 1 seed from the PSUAC East Division and host first round games when the conference tournament begins Friday. York will battle third-seeded Penn State Schuylkill in an elimination game at 4:00 PM, while Brandywine will face the winner at 7:00 PM.

Brandywine will close out the regular season with a non-conference game on Tuesday at Maple Zone against Clarks Summit at 6:00 PM.