Scranton Lions Baseball Drops Doubleheader to Schuylkill

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a gorgeous summer-like, picture perfect day, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions baseball squad lost both ends of their doubleheader to conference foe Penn State Schuylkill by the scores of 10-5 and 7-5 respectively. With these pair of home losses, Scranton's overall record moves to 7-20 and their all-important league mark goes to 0-10 with just over a week left in the regular season.

In the game one seven inning affair, the road warriors from Schuylkill put up a huge six spot in the top half of the first inning to kick-off the contest in dynamite fashion, to go along with a run in the fifth, and three more in the sixth frame to cruise to their 10-5 triumph. Scranton picked up a trio of runs in the bottom of the third, one in the fifth, and one more in sixth to account for their five runs in the matchup. Overall Schuylkill outhit the Lions by a 16-8 margin.

Scranton had the dynamic duo of freshman catcher Thomas McIntyre and fellow freshman, left fielder Guy Mushow each tally a stellar multi-hit performance in the ball game. McIntyre went 2-3 at the plate and Mushow also went 2-3, drilling a double, scoring a run, and picked up an RBI. The other Lions RBI came from freshman shortstop Alex Pagotto who went 1-4, crushed a double, and tallied a run, freshman right fielder Ryan Vinton was 1-2, walked twice, scored once, and stole a base to boot, and sophomore first baseman Zach Benson went 1-4. Scranton's other base knock came from sophomore third baseman and team captain Mike DeWolfe who was 1-3 at the dish, walked once, scored a run, and swiped a bag for good measure.

Meanwhile, Schuylkill had a well-balanced offensive attack that saw a robust six of their players have multi-hit games, as senior center fielder Patrick Ryan, fellow senior, designated hitter Jake Leininger, junior third baseman Ethan Naftzinger, freshman shortstop Owen Kosar, fellow freshman, catcher Owen Shoop, and junior right fielder Jared Sterner set the pace for their club. Ryan led the way with a near flawless 3-4 effort, smashing a pair of doubles, scoring a run, and drove in a game-high four RBI. Leininger was 3-5 at the plate and tallied a run. Naftzinger went 2-5, with a nice double, scored a pair of runs, and had two RBI. Kosar was a perfect 2-2 at the dish, walking twice, and scored a hat trick of runs. Shoop went 2-3 and collected an RBI. Last but certainly not least, Sterner was 2-4, ripped a double, and drove in a run.

On the pitching side of things, Scranton started senior hurler Justin Craigg on the mound and he picked up the loss, tossing a gritty four innings, allowing six earned runs, nine hits, one walk, and fanned two batters on the day. Freshman John Paffenroth came in relief out of the bullpen and threw the final three innings for his team, giving up a trio of earned runs, seven hits, and walked three in his outing. Meanwhile, Schuylkill had senior Ryan Culbert toe the slab first, as he earned the victory on the bump, tossing six quality innings, surrendering three earned runs, seven hits, four bases on balls, and struck out a stellar nine hitters in his start. Fellow senior Dayne Yourkavitch threw the last inning of the contest, allowing no runs or walks, and gave up just one lone base hit in his appearance.

In the game two nightcap seven inning affair, it was a back-and-forth nail-biting thriller that Schuylkill prevailed in, as they scored a run in each of the first three innings, a pair in the top of the fourth, and the game winning two runs crossed home in the decisive top of the seventh frame to ensure their razor thin 7-5 triumph. Scranton got off to a hot start scoring a trio of runs in the bottom half of the first inning, one more in the third, and one in the fourth to tie up the contest at 5-5 before being held scoreless in the final three innings of the battle. Overall Scranton was outhit in the ball game by a close 9-6 margin.

The Lions from Scranton had two players put up multi-hit performances in the second game, as DeWolfe and Benson led the way on offense. DeWolfe went 2-4, scoring a pair of runs, and stole two bases. Benson also went 2-4 and scored twice in the showdown. The other Lions base knocks came from Vinton who went 1-3, walked once, scored a run, and drove one in, and Mushow who also went 1-3 and crushed a double. The other RBI for Scranton came from Craigg who drove in a pair and McIntyre who drove one home as well.

Meanwhile, Schuylkill had the dynamic offensive combo of sophomore first baseman Chase Herb and Naftzinger collect multiple hits in the contest. Herb led the way going a stand-out 3-5 at the dish, with a big RBI double in the second frame and smashed a solo home run in the top of the fourth, to go along with his pair of RBI, scored a run, and swiped a bag. Naftzinger was a flawless 2-2, with a sweet double, reached base once via the walk, and tallied a run during the festivities.

In the pitching department, Scranton started their senior ace Mark Longo on the mound and he tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs, five hits, just one lone walk, and fanned five Schuylkill batters on the day. McIntyre picked up the loss in relief out of the pen in his 2 1/3 innings pitched, giving up a pair of earned runs, four hits, and two walks in his outing. Lastly, Benson finished up the game for his squad by throwing the final 2/3 of an inning, allowing no runs, walks, or hits in his appearance. Meanwhile, Schuylkill started Leininger on the bump and he tossed the first four innings, surrendering a quartet of earned runs, six base hits, just one walk, and struck out six hitters. Finally, junior Owen Zimmerman earned the victory on the mound by throwing a dazzling three shutout innings in relief, allowing no walks or hits, and fanned five Scranton batters in his dominant performance out of the pen.

Now second-year head coach Collin Ferguson and his 7-20 Penn State Scranton baseball squad will look to bounce back and snap their seven game losing streak when they look for immediate revenge when they go on the road this Sunday afternoon for a crucial conference doubleheader against Penn State Schuylkill, with first pitch scheduled for 12 noon. While head coach Jim Misstishin and his Penn State Schuylkill ball club will head into their next battle with Scranton on a mini two game winning streak after improving their overall record to 14-8 and 9-5 in their all-important league schedule.