Beaver Finishes Second in PSUAC Tournament

The Penn State Beaver Nittany Lions baseball entered the PSUAC Championship Tournament as the #2 seed, but ended in second place, falling to their tournament host, the Penn College Wildcats, who took this year's title. The Lions defeated Penn State Brandywine, 6-2 and 4-1, but lost to Penn College, 3-2 and 3-1.

On Wednesday, April 30, the Lions took on #3 seed Brandywine in game one and scored first, plating one in the first inning. Beaver built the lead to 4-0, scoring three in the third. Brandywine scored one in the sixth, but Beaver added one in the sixth to take the win.

Senior Pat Ringel (Sto-Rox High School) pitched seven innings, giving up seven hits, walking none, and striking out four to earn the win. Offensively, Ringel, sophomore Joe Scherer (Quaker Valley High School), and Nate Stonfer (Ambridge High School) each had two hits. Ringel added a triple and scored two runs while Scherer had a 2 RBI triple in the three-run third.

In game two, the winner's bracket game, Beaver took on Penn College. The Lions and the Wild Cats traded runs in the first and fourth innings to push the game into extra innings wth the score tied, 2-2. Penn College took the game in the eighth, though, winning on a Texas leaguer in the final at bat.

Sophomore Greg Frederick (Quaker Valley High School) pitched all eight innings, giving up six hits, walking four, and striking out twelve. Offensively, Scherer and Ringel led the way in the loss. Scherer had two hits and an RBI while Ringel had one hit and one RBI and stole two bases.

On Thursday, May 1, Beaver took on Brandywine again for a chance to move to the championship. Beaver built a 4-0 lead, scoring two in the second and one in the third and fourth. Brandywine scored a meaningless run in the fifth, and Beaver held on for a 4-1 victory.

Freshman Jake Ellis (Seneca Valley High School) pitched seven innings, scattering seven hits and six walks while striking out two on his way to the victory. Once again, Scherer led the way offensively with three hits and a run. Freshman Huston Lorenzo (Miami, Fl) added two hits and a run scored.  

In the championship game, Beaver went up again against the Wildcats again and, once again, fell short. The Penn College scored two in the bottom of the second to build a 2-0 lead. Beaver answered, cutting the lead in half and plating one in the fourth. The Wildcats got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Beaver rallied in the seventh but came up empty and lost, 3-1. Scherer pitched six strong innings, scattering seven hits, walking none, and striking out two.  Beaver collected five hits in the loss, led by a double by Frederick.

The USCAA National Tournament is up next for the Nittany Lions. The tournament, hosted by The Apprentice School, begins May 13 in Hampton, Virginia. Beaver is the #1 seed and will take on #8 seed Robert Morris College Springfield, Illinois in the first round.