Lions And Griffins Split Saturday Doubleheader

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine won the first game of the day by an 11-7 score, but Gwynedd Mercy claimed the rubber match of the three-game series by earning a 9-4 victory in the nightcap of a non-conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Game One: Penn State Brandywine 11, Gwynedd Mercy 7

Brandywine took advantage of five Gwynedd Mercy errors and bashed three home runs en route to winning the day's opening game.

A trio of Gwynedd miscues helped the Lions put three runs on the board during the first inning. After Nick Wright (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) reached on an error to start the game, he came around to score on Evan Abegg's (Commerce City, Colo./Prairie View) double. Abegg stole third and scored on Cam Baughman's (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) groundout, while Shawn Webb (Drexel Hill, Pa./Bonner-Prendie) doubled and scored via Griffin error.

Ryan Snyder (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and Wright worked consecutive walks to begin the second inning and both later came around to score. Snyder crossed home following a Gwynedd Mercy error, while Wright scored on Mike DeGirolamo's (Frederick, Md./Frederick) sacrifice fly for a 5-0 Brandywine lead.

Gwynedd Mercy got on the board with a run in the second inning and drew closer by scoring twice in the third; however, Brandywine added two more runs to its lead in the fifth. Webb singled and scored via sacrifice fly from Max Tavarez (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge) and Snyder followed with a double that plated Ryan Brown (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem).

Brandywine used the long ball to pull away. Webb lifted a two-run home run in the sixth and Brown made it back-to-back shots with a solo homer over the left field fence. One inning later, Wright launched a solo shot that made the score 11-3.

Webb went 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases, while Wright also scored three times. Abegg crossed home twice and stole three bases. Brandywine swiped eight bags overall.

Jaylen Bryant (Brooklyn, N.Y./High School of Telecommunications) earned his first victory of the season on the mound. Bryant struck out four, while allowing three runs on four hits over six innings. After Brandywine ran into trouble in the seventh, Toby Skeans (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) got a groundout to end the game, earning his first save.

Game Two: Gwynedd Mercy 9, Penn State Brandywine 4

Gwynedd Mercy took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and busted the game open by scoring a combined eight runs during the fourth and fifth innings.

After being limited to two hits through five innings, Brandywine recorded all four of its runs on two hits in the sixth. Abegg led off with a single, moved to second when Webb walked and both later scored following a Griffin error. One batter later, Blaise Rago (Philadelphia, Pa./String Theory) lifted a two-run home run to left field.

The Lions finished game two with five hits, while Jack Johnston (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) highlighted three Brandywine pitchers by striking out three batters during 1.2 scoreless innings on the mound.

Brandywine (6-7) will return to Maple Zone on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader against Valley Forge beginning at 4:00 PM.