Lions Drop Pair on Final Friday of Myrtle Beach Trip
Penn State Schuylkill jumped out to early leads in both games Friday but late rallies by Lakeland CC and Minnesota North Itasca handed the Lions two tough losses.
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0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
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0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
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Game 1 – Lakeland Community College 4, Penn State Schuylkill 3
Penn State Schuylkill built an early 3-0 lead, but Lakeland Community College used late opportunities to rally for a 4-3 win in the opener.
The Lions manufactured two runs in the third inning. Andrew Klotz started the rally with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Conner Licklider, and scored on a sacrifice by Roman Cieless. Later in the inning, Joey Ruggiero reached on an error and came around to score when Hayden Lee put the ball in play to give Schuylkill a 2-0 advantage.
Schuylkill added another run in the fifth when Cieless came around to score on a fielder's choice by Lee, extending the lead to 3-0.
Klotz finished with a double and run scored, while Lee drove in two runs. Dan Zimmerman and Alex Fantaskey also recorded hits, with Fantaskey adding a stolen base.
On the mound, Dylan Siwik kept Lakeland quiet early, working five innings and allowing just two runs, both unearned, while striking out two.
Lakeland broke through in the fifth with help from an error and a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2, before capitalizing on another defensive miscue in the sixth to score the go-ahead runs and take the 4-3 lead.
Schuylkill had a chance in the seventh when Cieless drew a leadoff walk, but Lakeland turned a double play to end the threat.
Game 2 – Minnesota North Itasca 8, Penn State Schuylkill 4
The Lions came out strong in the second game, scoring four runs in the first two innings, but Minnesota North Itasca responded with a big middle stretch to pull away for an 8-4 victory.
Schuylkill opened the scoring in the first when Andrew Klotz reached and eventually came home on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
The Lions extended their advantage in the second inning. C Hopper delivered a two-run double to left field, and later Roman Cieless reached on an error that allowed another run to score as Schuylkill built a 4-1 lead.
North Itasca began its comeback in the third inning, cutting the deficit to 4-2. The turning point came in the fifth when T. Vekich launched a three-run home run to right field, giving North Itasca its first lead at 5-4.
The momentum continued in the sixth inning as North Itasca added three more runs, including a two-run homer by C. Flaig, pushing the lead to 8-4.
Schuylkill was unable to generate a late rally despite a sixth inning single from Dan Zimmerman, while Joey Ruggiero closed the game on the mound with a strong seventh inning, striking out two batters.
Penn State Schuylkill will wrap up the Myrtle Beach spring break trip Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. against Quinsigamond Community College.