Penn College faced Penn State Abington in a United East baseball doubleheader on Saturday. The Wildcats split the games, losing the first 16-10 and winning the second 8-5, which brought their record to 3-1 UE and 7-8 overall.
In the first game, Penn College took an early lead of 3-0 in the second inning thanks to a Matt Munoz single, an error, and a Brandon Shane single to left field. However, Abington responded with two runs in the bottom of the second. Shawn Townsend’s single to left field helped Penn College regain a run in the third inning. The Lions scored nine runs over the third and fourth innings to secure their victory.
Nathan Gustkey and Shane both had three hits for Penn College. Dallas Griess, Levi Purnell, Townsend, Jaydon Goebel, and Munoz each contributed two hits, with Purnell and Goebel hitting home runs.
In the second game, Penn College quickly established a 5-0 lead by scoring one run in the first inning and four more in the top of the third. Purnell’s single initiated scoring in the first inning. Townsend’s single, Munoz’s sacrifice fly, and Shane’s two-run single extended their lead during the third inning. Despite Abington narrowing the gap with three runs in their half of the third inning and another error keeping it close at 6-3 after four innings, Gustkey and Purnell added crucial insurance runs for Penn College in the seventh inning.
Gustkey led with four hits; Ethan Stahl and Shane each added three hits while Purnell and Townsend contributed two apiece. Ethan Hannevig earned credit for the win after pitching five innings where he allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts against one walk.
Next up for Penn College is a home game against King’s College scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m.
