Lions fall at home to Penn State Schuylkill

Drifton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions tallied just one scored on their home turf Thursday afternoon, leading to a pair of losses at the hands of Penn State Schuylkill. The losses drop the Nittany Lions to 4-12 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, currently good for 10th place. Hazleton was tagged for 18 runs in the opening matchup, losing 18-1, however righted their pitching and defense in game two, taking the Schuylkill down to the wire. But the bats were kept quiet by the opposing pitching staff and Hazleton was shutout in game two by the score of 5-0.

Game 1: Penn State Schuylkill 18, Penn State Hazleton 1 (Final 5 Innings)

Penn State Schuylkill jumped on the board early with a first inning two run home run and continued to tack on scores in each of the five innings played. Hazleton pitching allowed 16 hits to the visitors with six fielding miscues contributing to the lopped sided outcome. The Nittany Lions broke the shutout in the final frame, leading to the final score of 18-1.

Top 1st

An error allowed the second batter to reach base and provide an additional Schuylkill score as Chris Kreider went deep to kick off the scoring for the visitors. Two Nittany Lion errors on a stolen base attempt brought in another run, spotting Schuylkill a 3-0 advantage before taking the field.

Top 2nd

Schuylkill sends nine batters to the plate in the second inning, notching four hits to score five additional runs. A sacrifice fly RBI led to the first run of the inning, but the visitors were able to keep the inning alive with two outs. Three runs come in on two consecutive singles and an RBI double from Tyler Starry caps the scoring with Schuylkill taking an 8-0 lead.

Top 3rd

Guy Visconti reaches base with two outs on a walk, then steals second and third base to get into scoring position. Nick Jacoby picks up a two out RBI single increase the lead to 9-0 in favor of Schuylkill.

Top 4th

Schuylkill adds three runs on five hits in the inning including an RBI double from Starry and a pair of RBI singles from Matt Perez and Michael Hillcoat to take a 12-0 lead over Hazleton.

Top 5th

Two runners move up on a wild pitch leading to a sacrifice fly by Penn State Schuylkill. An RBI single and a fielder's choice plate two more runs for the visitors before Ryan King doubles to right field, scoring the fourth run of the inning. Hazleton has a chance to end the frame, but an infield error plates two more runs for Schuykill, giving them 18 for the game.

Bottom 5th

Hazleton loads the bases in the bottom half of the inning and with one out, freshman Ivan Leger (Philadelphia, Pa.)  notches his first RBI of the season with a ground ball out to break up the shut out.

Top Performers

Matt Roberts tosses five strong innings for Schuylkill, allowing one run on just three hits and two walks while striking out three Hazleton batters to earn the win.

Matt Roberts led the Schuylkill offense going 3-3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored. Tyler Starry drove in two runs on two hits and Chris Kreider finished the game 1-3 with three RBI to round out the top hitters for Schuylkill.

Sophomore Tylers Myers (Nanticoke, Pa.), junior Aaron Glass (Shippensburg, Pa.) and sophomore Charles Karchner (Hazleton, Pa.) each finished 1-2, earning Hazleton's three hits in game one. Karchner came around to score the lone Hazleton run in the loss.

Game 2: Penn State Schuylkill 5, Penn State Hazleton 0

The Nittany Lions got quality pitching from sophomore Charles Ziegmont (Tallahassee, Fl.) in the second matchup with Schuylkill, giving Hazleton a great opportunity to pick up the victory. The sophomore tossed a complete game, allowing just three earned runs but the Nittany Lion offense failed to produce behind the hurler. Schuylkill picked up an unearned run in the first but were shut down by Ziegmont for the next two frames until the visitors picked up another unearned run in the fourth to expand the lead to 2-0. Hazleton battled tough with their local rival but like in game one, the Lions just couldn't threaten the opposing pitcher. Schuylkill held the Lions to just four hits in the final game, and a three run fifth inning put the game out of reach for the Nittany Lions. Hazleton got a runner in scoring position with two outs in the seventh inning, but failed to push a run across the plate, falling in game two by the score of 5-0.

Top 1st

Guy Visconti reaches base on a Hazleton error to lead off the game, then advances to third base on a Lion's throwing error. Visconti scores on a ground out to put Schuylkill up 1-0.

Top 4th

Tyler Starry walks and steals second base, then scores on dropped ball in the Hazleton outfield to plate a second Schuylkill run. 

Top 5th

Hazleton fielders have a clean inning, but Schuylkill collects three runs on three hits. Visconti singles in the first run, then comes around to score on to score on a Nick Jacoby triple. With just one out in the inning, Jacoby comes in easily on a ground ball out to second base, expanding the lead to 5-0 for the visitors.

Top Performers

C.J. Ziegmont tosses the complete game for Hazleton, allowing five runs (three earned) on just six hits and a walk, striking out one Schuylkill batter.

Charlie Karchner finished 2-3 at the plate to lead all Hazleton hitters in game two.

Like Ziegmont, Schuylkill's Ryan King also tossed a complete game, but shut out the Lions offense for the victory. King allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four batters in the winning effort.

Guy Visconti topped the Schuylkill hitters going 2-4 with two runs scored. Nick Jacoby finished 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored while teammate Chris Kreider drove in two runs without registering a hit in the ball game.

Next Up

After six games in three days, the Nittany Lions earn a day off on Friday before heading back to the diamond this weekend. Hazleton squares off with Penn State Greater Allegheny on Saturday, April 23 for a 2:00 p.m. double header at the Drifton Sports Complex.