Lions’ Bats Struggle in Doubleheader Sweep by Concordia Wisconsin
AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Penn State Altoona baseball got solid pitching and defense on Sunday, but the Lions struggled to get their bats going in a pair of losses to Concordia University Wisconsin at Lake Myrtle Park in the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.
The Lions (0-6) had just six hits in game one while stranding nine baserunners, and Penn State Altoona finished with only four hits in game two while leaving 10 runners on base.
"It's frustrating. We aren't hitting the ball," said Penn State Altoona head coach RJ Barnard. "We've scored 13 runs in six games. We're going to continue to take our lumps until the bats wake up. Hopefully, the off day tomorrow will do us some good and we can get in the win column on Tuesday."
Game One: Concordia Wisconsin 6, Penn State Altoona 2
Penn State Altoona yielded an early lead to CUW (3-2), and the Lion bats struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities, stranding nine runners on base throughout the game.
Richard Carey (Milton, DE/Cape Henlopen) had two of Penn State Altoona's six hits, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Grant King (Wingate, PA/Bald Eagle) was 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Chase Clouser (Dublin, OH/Dublin Jerome) and George Stiuso (Milford, NJ/Gill St. Bernard's) each finished with one run batted in.
Dylan Bates (Towanda, PA/Towanda) started at pitcher for the Lions, going five innings and giving up four earned runs while striking out five batters. Austin Miller (Orbisonia, PA/Southern Huntingdon) pitched two innings in relief, giving up one run and striking out one.
CUW grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, when Sam Zarling's RBI triple and Sam Beers' run-scoring groundout plated runs for the Falcons. Johannes Haakenson's sacrifice fly in the second inning made it 3-0.
In the fifth, Sean Tillmon's two-run base hit up the middle tacked two more runs on to CUW's total, increasing the Falcons' lead to 5-0. Beers' RBI double to right in the seventh made it 6-0.
Penn State Altoona made some noise in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases on singles from Carey and King and a hit by pitch on Clayton Hain (Schaefferstown, PA/Eastern Lebanon County). Clouser drew a bases-loaded walk to score his team's first run, and one batter later, Stiuso's fielder's choice grounder plated another run.
But the Lions were unable to do any further damage, and the Falcons sealed a four-run win in game one of the twinbill.
Game Two: Concordia Wisconsin 6, Penn State Altoona 4
Penn State Altoona came back from a deficit, but the Lions were unable to capitalize on some scoring chances, stranding 10 runners. CUW broke a tie game in the sixth to ultimately prevail by two.
Hain went 1-for-4 for the Lions with two RBI and a run scored. Jared Ennis (Richboro, PA/Council Rock South) went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks, and Stiuso and Andrew Culp (Oxford, PA/Oxford) also had hits for the Lions.
Alex Kitko (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) made his first start of the season on the mound, pitching five innings and surrendering four runs while recording four strikeouts. Tyler Manger (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) pitched one inning in relief and was saddled with the loss.
Penn State Altoona plated the game's first run in the top of the first when Ennis drew a bases-loaded walk. But CUW answered in the bottom of the first on Sam Beers' RBI single, tying the score 1-1.
Catcher Cumming (Altoona, PA/Altoona) hit a sac fly in the top of the third to put Penn State Altoona ahead again, but RBI singles from Blake Gosswein, Zarling, and Beers gave the Falcons a 4-2 advantage.
Penn State Altoona battled back to tie the game. Nickolas Knopp (Ebensburg, PA/Central Cambria) scored on Hain's fielder's choice grounder in the fourth, and Hain's RBI base hit up the middle tied things up 4-4 in the sixth.
But the Falcons scored one run on a throwing error and another on a Gosswein RBI double in the sixth to reclaim the lead for good, 6-4.
Penn State Altoona baseball now heads into its first of two days off this week tomorrow, and the Lions will return to action on Tuesday, March 10 at 9:00 a.m., facing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a single, nine-inning game at Chain of Lakes Stadium in Winter Haven.
