Behrend Lions Baseball Drops Two Versus Nationally Ranked Wooster

The Penn State Behrend baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to nationally ranked opponent Wooster on Sunday, April 11 at the Behrend baseball field.  The Fighting Scots edged the Behrend Lions 2-1 in the first game, and took game two 15-8 in a slugfest.

In game one Behrend took the lead in the bottom of the first when junior infielder Ed Kessler (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) walked and was doubled home by senior shortstop Josh Fyffe (Fredonia/Sharpsville), as the blue and white took a quick 1-0 lead.  Behrend maintained that lead under superb early pitching by senior Ryan Antolik (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills), who kept the Fighting Scots off the scoreboard until the fourth inning.  In the top of the fourth, Wooster took advantage of Behrend errors to push the tying run across and make it a 1-1 ballgame.

In the top of the sixth, Wooster manufactured another run to go ahead 2-1.  Behrend was unable to tie the game in the sixth or seventh, and Wooster picked up the one-run game one win.  Antolik went six innings, striking out five, and giving up a single earned run.  Fyffe was 2-for-4 while sophomore Geoff Lang (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) reached base three times on two hits and a walk.

Game two began with fireworks as the Wooster bats came alive in the top of the first, blasting three extra base hits, drawing three walks, and putting up eight runs before Behrend could get out of the inning.  The blue and white responded quickly as five of the first six Behrend batters reached base safely, and the Behrend Lions stole four bases in the inning getting five runs across the plate and cutting Wooster's lead to 8-5.

Both teams would score again in the second inning, as Wooster put up three runs, while Behrend scored twice and the game went to the third inning with the Fighting Scots leading 11-7.  Wooster would outscore Behrend 4-1 the rest of the way and sweep the doubleheader with a 15-8 win in game two.

Lang went 3-for-4 scoring three runs, Fyffe went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and sophomore Ryan Geibel (East Butler/Butler) reached base in all four of his at bats (one hit, three walks).

Behrend is now 15-9 overall on the season, and tied for first in the AMCC with a 6-2 mark.  The blue and white will try to stay on top in the AMCC when they travel to Hilbert on Tuesday, April 13 for a conference doubleheader with Hilbert, before returning home on Thursday, April 15 for a single non-conference game versus Thiel.