Baseball

Penn State Harrisburg and Keystone Crowned United East Baseball Divisional Championships

LATHAM, N.Y. - The 2024 United East Baseball Championships concluded on Monday afternoon with divisional finals on the campuses of Keystone College and Penn State Harrisburg. 

After fighting rain and inclement weather throughout the weekend, the Skye Division final at Keystone College was able to finish with the host Giants defeating Cairn by a score of 8-2.  On the Volt side, St. Mary’s won an elimination game against Lancaster Bible, but ultimately fell to the host Penn State Harrisburg by a score of 10-2.

Skye Division - Game 6: #1 Keystone College def. #2 Cairn University - 8-2
 
Keystone hosted Cairn in the Skye Division championship game with Cairn needing to beat Keystone twice today to avoid elimination.  However, Giants starter Sean Brennan picked up his sixth win of the season, going 7.1 innings pitched, allowing one hit and striking out 10 batters to hold the high-powered Highlanders offense in check.  Four Keystone players finished with multiple hits, including doubles from Bobby Pokorney, Darren Hagan, Robert Estrada, and Nate Ewing.
 
Cairn was led by Tyler Fox who went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Tyler Warr had a double. Ronaldinho Alcin took the loss after 5 innings pitched, striking out 6 batters and allowing 4 earned runs.
 
Volt Division - Game 5: #4 St. Mary’s (Md.) def.  #3 Lancaster Bible College - 14-2
                         
St. Mary’s (Md.) continued their hot run to end the season with a 14-2 victory over Lancaster Bible College in the afternoon’s first elimination game. 
 
The Seahawks scored early and often, running out to a 8-2 lead after four innings and added four more in the 7th to make it 12-2 after seven innings of play.  Chase O’Dell and Cole Tarleton each had four hits while Trevor Smith, Ian Walters, and Cole Tarleton each had 3 RBI.  Erik Thomas went a complete game, 9 innings, scattering five hits and only giving up one earned run.  Josh Hudson had two RBI for the Chargers.
 
Game 6: Penn State Harrisburg def. St. Mary’s (Md.) - 10-2
 
In the second game of the day, Penn State Harrisburg needed to defeat St. Mary’s once to earn the Volt Division title and hold off the Seahawks rally.  The Nittany Lions scored 7 runs in the final two innings to turn a 3-2 game into the final 10-2 scoreline to secure the Volt Division title. 
 
Christian Lubic II picked up the win for Harrisburg, going 5.0 Innings, scattering 5 hits, 2 earned runs and two strikeouts before handing off to Josh Berzonski who finished 3.0 innings and struck out 7 batters. 
 
Offensively, Harrisburg drew 10 walks as a team while Blaine Waltimyer went 3-for-3 and Drew Sassaman went 2-for-4 at the plate.  St. Mary’s was led by Derrick Booker and Trevor Smith, who each had two hits. 
 
What’s Next:
 
Keystone, the Skye Division champion, and Penn State Harrisburg, the Volt Division champion, will now meet in a best-of-3 series, hosted at Keystone College.  The winner of the best-of-3 series will earn the Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. 
 
Monday, May 6 Division Teams Score Follow
Game 6 Skye #1 Keystone College def. #2 Cairn University
*ppd from 5/5*		 8-2 Box Score
Monday, May 6 Division Teams  Score Follow
Game 5 Volt #4 St. Mary's College of Maryland def. #3 Lancaster Bible College
*PPD from 5/4*		 14-2 Box Score
Game 6 Volt #1 Penn State Harrisburg def. #4 St. Mary's College of Maryland 
*PPD from 5/4*		 10-2 Box Score

Tournament Schedule - Championship Series (Best-of-3)
 
Friday, May 10 Teams Time / Score
Game 1 Penn State Harrisburg at Keystone College TBD
Saturday, May 11 Teams Time / Score
Game 2 Penn State Harrisburg at Keystone College TBD
Game 3 If Necessary TBD
 

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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.