Pitching dominant for Knights in doubleheader sweep

By Paul Miller

Knightly News Co-Adviser

paulmiller@centralpenn.edu

The Central Penn College Knights baseball team provided the crowd with plenty of drama in their home opener on Tuesday at FNB Field in Harrisburg, winning two tight contests in a doubleheader sweep against the Penn State Mont Alto Nittany Lions. They won the first game 1-0 and won the second game on a walk-off hit in extra innings, 2-1.

Game 1

The first game of the doubleheader was a masterclass of pitching on both sides of the ball. Cameron Smiley came into the game already having started three contests on the season to this point, seemingly the top starter in Central Penn’s rotation. It was clear why, as Smiley set Penn State Mont Alto down in order in five of the seven innings he pitched.

For the Nittany Lions, Joshua Sullivan took the ball for Penn State and did not disappoint, pitching out of a couple of jams and ultimately allowing only one run.

To start the game, Smiley was in command. He sat the Nittany Lions down with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first. Still, Sullivan matched Smiley in the bottom of the first with a 1-2-3 inning of his own, keeping the game scoreless.

The second inning was a bit more interesting on both sides of the ball. After a walk from Smiley to Garrett Rosenberry, Cameron Bailey had a strong single, putting a runner in scoring position. Smiley followed that up with a wild pitch, allowing both runners to move up with only one out. Smiley settled down, though, inducing a pop-out to Gavin Kissel and striking out John Copenhaver to end the inning.

Sullivan struggled in the second inning. After getting Tanner McCoy to ground back to the pitcher, Sullivan proceeded to walk the based loaded. Kyle Brent came up to the plate with the chance to blow the game open, but he grounded into a fielder’s choice allowing Penn State Mont Alto to throw out Nic Joseph out at the plate. Sullivan then struck out Terrell Smith-Cole with the bases loaded to get out of the jam.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning for Smiley in the third, he helped his own cause at the plate with a single and a steal. Two batters later, McCoy drove a line-drive single to right field, bringing Smiley around to score to put the Knights up by a score of 1-0.

From there, that was all the run support Smiley needed, sitting Penn State Mont Alto down in order each of the next three innings. The Knights were not able to get much going offensively in their own right, mustering only four baserunners throughout the remainder of the game, with two of those being erased on the basepaths by Bailey, the Nittany Lions catcher.

In the top of the seventh with the game on the line, Smiley allowed a single to Garrett Worth, followed by a sacrifice by Wyatt Kissel, giving Penn State Mont Alto a chance to tie the game up with a base hit. But it was not to be, as Smiley took command and struck out the final two batters for a 1-0 Knights victory.

Smiley was the Weis Knightly News Player of the Game in Game 1, tossing a shutout while only allowing only three baserunners. He also was 1-for-3 at the plate, scoring the game’s only run.

Game 2

After the limited offensive showing in Game 1 despite the win, the Knights were looking to rebound in the second game. Penn State Mont Alto sent Carter Fogal to the hill for Game 2, while the Knights countered with last year’s ESAC Conference Championship Game starter Wyatt Koser.

Both teams struggled to put up much offense in this contest, as both Fogal and Koser blanked their opposition for the first five innings. Central Penn was limited to a singles by Gabe Kaufman in the second, David Thomas in the third, and Kyle Brent in the fourth, without being able to move any of those runners into scoring position over the course of the first several innings.

It was a little more of a challenge for Koser, as he walked four batters over his five innings of work, relying on a key pick-off of Nicholas Leckert in the second, and a fantastic 4-3 double play started by Owen Zell in the third.

In the fourth inning, Koser allowed a single to Caiden Smith and, after two sacrifices and a walk, found himself with two runners on base. He buckled down, though, and struck out Nathanial Smith to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, Koser allowed a lead-off single to Wyatt Kissel, and Knights head coach Charles Stevens made a call to the bullpen and brought in Colten Zerby. On the first batter Zerby faced, the Knights got a massive break, with Caiden Smith smashing a line drive into Kissel, causing an out. Even with another base hit by Leckert, Zerby was able to keep the game knotted at zero.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Knights appeared to have some life, with McCoy having a line-drive single and stealing second to put himself into scoring position. But an untimely line drive right at Dylan Morgan gave Penn State Mont Alto an unassisted double play to get out of the inning.

With neither team producing a run in the seventh, the game went into extra innings. In the eighth, a Braden Zeger single, followed by a walk to Wyatt Kissel, gave the Nittany Lions a runner in scoring position. Leckert lined a single to score Zegar for the first run of the game, giving Penn State Mont Alto a 1-0 lead.

But the Knights were not done. After Zell and Thomas both singled, McCoy was intentionally walked to load the bases to bring up Joseph. Even though Joseph had struggled to this point in the season with a .182 average, he was able come up with a massive base hit, driving in Zell and Thomas, and giving the Knights the walk-off victory.

It was a tough way to end for Penn State Mont Alto, as Fogal, who had been brilliant across seven scoreless innings, ultimately allowing the winning runs in the eighth inning. For the Knights, the combination of Koser and Zerby held the Nittany Lions at bay, giving the Knights the doubleheader sweep.

The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game in Game 2 was Joseph, going 1-for-4, but delivering the clutch 2 RBI base hit in extra innings when it mattered most.

With these two victories, the Knights moved to 6-3 on the season, as Penn State Mont Alto fell to 5-11. The Knights will return to FNB Field for an ESAC Conference doubleheader on Thursday against Manor College.