Brandywine Earns Day One Split In Florida

DAVENPORT, Fla. – Penn State Brandywine dropped game one 3-2, but rebounded to pound Penn State Altoona 15-1 in game two, earning a split at the RussMatt Baseball Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 3, Penn State Brandywine 2

Brandywine carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning, but Altoona rallied for three runs to win the doubleheader opener 3-2.

The Lions pushed both of their runs across during the fourth inning. Ryan Brown (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) and Will Collison (Chestertown, Md./Queen Anne's County) led off with back-to-back singles and both later came around to score. Brown crossed home following Jason Hankins' (Chichester, Pa./Chichester) sacrifice fly, while Collison scored via wild pitch.

Altoona took advantage of three Brandywine errors to tie the count in the fifth before a bases-loaded walk pushed across the go-ahead marker one frame later.

The Lions put the tying run on first base in the seventh with one out, but a pair of fly balls ended the threat.

Four Brandywine pitchers combined to record a season-high 13 strikeouts. Nate Romberger (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen School) fanned eight in 3.2 scoreless innings, while Noah Walker (Bremen, Ga./Bremen) recorded three strikeouts. Matt Delacruz (Exton, Pa./West Chester East) twirled 1.1 scoreless frames, striking out two.

Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 15, Penn State Altoona 1

Brandywine was limited to one run on one hit through four innings, but exploded for five runs on three hits in the fifth.

Hankins delivered a go-ahead single, scoring Brown to start the frame. Two batters later, Ryan Snyder (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) legged out an inside-the-park, three-run home run to center field. Romberger made it back-to-back homers by blasting an opposite field shot to give Brandywine a 6-1 lead.

The Lions put the game away in the seventh, putting nine runs on the board. Romberger, Hankins and Ryan Koman (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) all delivered two-run knocks, while Snyder drove in Hankins with a two-base hit to highlight the frame.

Snyder went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs scored, while Romberger also collected three hits and knocked in three. Hankins chipped in a pair of knocks, three RBI and two runs.

Nick Gordon (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) worked the first five innings on the mound to earn his second win of the spring. He fanned a season-high seven batters and did not allow an earned run. Will Gallagher (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harriton) pitched a scoreless sixth inning, while Josh Hess (Panama City, Fla./Arnold) struck out the side in the seventh.

Brandywine (3-4) faces Lakeland Sunday in Auburndale at 1:45 PM.