LATHAM, N.Y. - The 2024 United East Baseball Championship kicked off on Friday with double-elimination tournaments beginning both in the Skye Division and the Volt.
In the Skye, top-seeded Keystone College upended No. 4 Rosemont, 23-4, in game one before No. 3 Wilson College upset No. 2 Cairn University, 3-0, in game two. Host Penn State Harrisburg defeated No. 4 St. Mary’s College of Maryland while No. 3 Lancaster Bible College played the upset role, downing No. 2 Penn State Abington,
Cairn and Rosemont (Skye) and Abington and St. Mary’s (Volt) will battle tomorrow at 9 am to see who will keep their playoff runs alive. Those will be followed by Keystone and Wilson (Skye) and Harrisburg and Lancaster Bible (VOlt). Saturday will conclude with a contest between the winners of game one and the losers of game two.
SKYE DIVISION
GAME 1: Keystone def. Rosemont, 23-4
Keystone used 18 hits from 11 different Giants to help propel them to victory. After giving up an opening frame run to the Ravens, the home team piled in eight to take an early lead. Both teams threw up one run in the second inning but another eight run inning by the Giants in the third. Leading 17-4 in the sixth, a five-run inning extended the lead.
Darren Hagan, Robert Estrada and Nate Ewing all stacked up three hits while combining for nine RBI. Fisher Sheffield collected the win on the bump, tossing innings 5-8 and punching out two.
GAME 2: Wilson def. Cairn, 3-0
Game two was a tight battle but the Phoenix broke things open in the top of the frame as a Jordan Daphney double plated the game’s first run. Harry Middlebrooks provided the next run as his single in the fifth scored Haden Hoff. The final run came by way of wild pitch in the ninth.
Wilson’s Emilio Rodriguez pitched a gem as he allowed just two hits while striking out 10 over 8.0 innings of work. Adrian Lugo would take the rubber for the final frame, striking out two and picking up the save.
VOLT DIVISION
GAME 1: Penn State Harrisburg def. St. Mary’s College, 10-6
Harrisburg took an early 4-0 lead as they sprinkled runs across the first four innings. The Seahawks stormed back though, using a four-run fifth to knot things up. The draw didn’t old though as in the bottom of the frame, Harrisburg plated a single run. St. Mary’s College then took its first lead as a pair of runs in the sixth put them up 6-5. The lead was only held momentarily though as Harrisburg racked up three in the bottom of the sixth. The Lions would then plate one in each of the next innings to solidify the win.
Brendan Henn went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI for the Lions while Carlos Irizarry added two hits and two RBI to the offense. Josh Berzonski collected the win on the mound as he struck out six through the final three innings.
Derrick Booker had a great outing for the Seahawks, registering a pair of hits, one of which was a 3 RBI triple.
GAME 2: Lancaster Bible College def. Penn State Abington, 16-3.
The Chargers exploded out of the gates as they plated 10 runs in the top of the opening frame. They added another in the third before Abington managed to get on the board in the fourth, making it 11-1. The two sides both exchanged runs in the fifth and seventh and Lancaster Bible finished the game by adding three more across the final two frames.
The long ball was on fire for Lancaster Bible as they sent five balls over the fence. Blake Greenly and Evan Sareyka each had two while Harrison Hobdy added one. Greenly finished the day from the plate going 3-for-3 with five runs scored, six RBI, four walks and two dingers. Andrew Workman picked up the win on the bump, allowing just a trio of runs over the first seven frames.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram - gounitedeast | Twitter - @GoUnitedEast
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.