Flemington, NJ – On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the University of Valley Forge Baseball team faced the Nittany Lions of Penn State Hazleton in a non-conference matchup at a neutral site in New Jersey.
GAME ONE: 9-6 PSU
Hazleton showed aggressiveness at the plate, scoring 4 runs at the top of the first. With senior
Cody Rak (DeLand, Fl.) starting on the mound, the Nittany Lions scored 2 unearned runs, followed by a two-run homerun to leftfield by Wyatt Kindle. Valley Forge responded in the bottom after
Andre D'Cunha (San Francisco, Ca.) reached first base on an error. Rak singled to center, advancing D'Cunha to third. Freshman
Thomas Bost (Stryker, Oh.) followed suit with a single to right, scoring D'Cunha to fix the board 4-2.
The Patriots retired the side in order in the second and third inning as Rak collected three strikeouts. Hazleton found the scoreboard in the fourth as Brett Koscio singled to center to bring Wyatt Kindle home. With a 5-2 lead, the Lions rallied with 2 outs, notching an additional 3 runs to close out the top with an 8-2 advantage.
Rookie
Zachary Andrews (Uniontown, Oh.) claimed the bump in the fifth inning as he came into relieve Rak. Valley Forge retired the side with a strikeout and two putouts to first. The Patriots and Lions were both scoreless in in the fifth.
Senior
Jeffery Espinal (Camden, NJ.) led off in the sixth with a single shot in left, but the Patriots couldn't capitalize. Hazleton collected their last run of game one in the seventh as Nick Vital batted in Colin Stauff with a one-hopper to center. In the last at-bat, sophomore
Bryant Craig (Magnolia, De.) reached first by an infield error.
Malik Graves found first on a fielder's choice, advancing Craig to second.
Andre D'Cunha singled to right, advancing both Craig and Graves. With Rak up to bat, the Patriots were able to score on a walk. Down 9-3, Valley Forge secured another run on a RBI from Espinal. With two outs, the Patriots kept the rally going as freshman
Thomas Bost hit in two runs with a single to centerfield. On a final strikeout, the Nittany Lions took the first 7-inning contest 9-6.
GAME TWO: 2-1 PSU
As the visiting team, the Patriots stepped up to the plate but were retired in order. With Espinal starting on the bump, the Patriots earned a three-up-three-down inning with two putouts and a strikeout. The Lions scored in the bottom of the second from a passed ball, taking a 1-0 lead.
With little action, the Patriots were in scoring position at the top of fourth after a
Matthew Cromyak (Cumbola, Pa.) single to center.
Cody Rak secured his second hit of the game with a double to left to score Cromyak and tie the game 1-1. In the bottom half, the Lions filled the bases but wouldn't score as Valley Forge collected the last out on a groundout.
Cromyak led off the Patriots with a single to left-center. Cromyak advanced to second off a fielder's choice.
Cody Rak hit a shot to center but Cromyak was tossed at home for the third out. Valley Forge shutdown the Lions with another three-up-three-down inning.
All tied up at 1-1, Espinal struck out two with a pop fly to center to head into extra innings.
Bryant Craig (Magnolia, De.) heated up the offense with an infield single to deep shortstop but no runs were scored from either team in the eighth.
At the bottom of the ninth, the Lions had a runner in scoring position after a walk and a steal. With only one out, Bryce Dalpiaz hit a line drive to Espinal who caught it and turned the double to force another inning.
The Nittany Lions had a runner on third after a shot to deep center at the bottom of the tenth. With a full count and two outs, Wyatt Kindler was sent to first on a walk. Hazleton walked it off with a blooper to right-center to end the contest 2-1
Espinal earned a new career-high 13 strikeouts.
Valley Forge will host the Nittany Lions of Penn State Brandywine at a baseball complex in Plymouth Meeting, PA on Saturday, February 29
th at 12 p.m.
