MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn College belted four home runs – including three from
Quinn Hanafin – and totaled 24 runs in a pair of wins Friday to advance to the United East baseball championship game. The Wildcats faced two elimination games and dealt Lancaster Bible a 14-4 setback in the first contest before outlasting Penn State Abington, 10-7, in the nightcap.
Penn College improved to 22-19 and will face top-seeded Penn State Harrisburg in Saturday's 11:30 a.m. title tilt. An if necessary game will immediately follow the first game.
Against LBC,
Penn College overcame a 4-0 deficit through the top of the fourth inning with six runs in the bottom of the frame.
Tyler Rudolph's double put PCT on the board before
Brian Robison made it 4-2 on an RBI single up the middle. Hanafin smacked a three-run homer to left center and
Tristan Current batted in a run with a single to give the Wildcats a 6-4 lead.
PCT added six in the fifth when Robison doubled to center, Hanafin singled to right, Current doubled, and
Cameron Dick brought in a pair on single to center. Current added an RBI single in the seventh and
Jake Wagner brought in a run with a single to right in the eighth.
Robison finished with four hits, Wagner and Current both had three knocks, and Hanafin and
Nathan Gustkey picked up a pair of hits for the Wildcats.
Ben Bretzman earned the win after coming in in the fourth. He fired four innings, allowed no runs, on four hits, with one strikeout, and one walk.
Against Abington,
After the Lions struck first in the top of the first inning with a run, the Wildcats tacked on three in the bottom of the inning on Current's three-run bomb to left. Abington made it a one run game in the top of the second but
Jacob Carles' answered with an RBI single to left in the bottom of the frame.
The Lions again pulled within one, 4-3, in the fourth but Dick plated a runner with a double in the fifth and Hanafin went yard again with a two-run shot to keep the Wildcats ahead 7-3. Abington rallied to tie the game at 7-7 with three in the seventh before Hanafin responded with a three-run homer to give PCT the lead for good.
Hanafin finished with three hits, while Carles and Current added a pair.
Zac Weaver improved to 6-1 after firing the final three innings. He allowed one earned run, on one hit, with two strikeouts, and one walk.
