April 30, 2009

Baseball closes 2009 campaign with split against Penn State-Altoona

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Senior Dane Ott’s (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) two run single in the fourth inning proved to be the difference as Juniata College downed Penn State-Altoona, 4-2, in game two of the teams’ Thursday doubleheader at Langdon-Goodale Field.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Senior Dane Ott's (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) two run single in the fourth inning proved to be the difference as Juniata College downed Penn State-Altoona, 4-2, in game two of the teams' Thursday doubleheader at Langdon-Goodale Field.

Penn State-Altoona won the opener, 6-2, with four runs in the top of the seventh.

In the second game, Juniata (13-23) took a lead in the third inning with a pair of runs. The Eagles took advantage of two-base errors on grounders to third base by Ott and Andrew Kriss (Forest Hill, Md./John Carroll), which allowed Ott to cross for one run. After Kriss moved up to third base on a wild pitch, another Penn State-Altoona error on Andrew Hirsch's (Annandale, Va./Falls Church) grounder allowed Kriss to score as well.

Juniata opened the fourth with Adam Spadafora (Asbury, N.J./Pennington School) reaching on an error, and Kevin Small (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) and Ian Thorne (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) getting aboard with singles. That set the table for Ott's two-RBI single through the right side, scoring Small and Spadafora. 

Penn State-Altoona scored two runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Jim Byers, and a base hit by John Schall through the right side that plated Byers.

Juniata reliever Matt Regan came on to start the fourth inning, and fanned three Lions while scattering four hits in three complete innings of work to earn the win.  Penn State-Altoona's Clint Wilson yielded four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits to take the loss. 

In the first game, Juniata held a 2-1 lead after four innings, after a two-run double by Greg Hoffman (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) scored Kriss and Thorne.

The Lions (26-14) tied the game with a single run in the fifth, when RJ Barnard singled home Jim Baum, who reached on an error by the Juniata rightfielder.

Penn State-Altoona grabbed the lead with a six-run seventh inning, keyed by a two-run single off the bat of Cord Heine and two more runs on a double by Schall.

Reliever Michael McGonigal (Peters Township, Pa./Peters Township) pitched only the seventh inning for the Eagles, but allowed four runs on three hits and was charged with the loss.  Penn State-Altoona starter Shaun Delozier allowed just four hits with one walk and no strikeouts, and was credited with the win.

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