Baseball Falls Twice to Penn State Altoona

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team saw its three-game win streak come to an end as the Leopards were defeated by Penn State Altoona in a non-conference doubleheader played at Chain of Lakes Park. The Lions (3-11) took the first game 7-1 and held on for an 8-7 win in the nightcap.

GAME ONE:  Penn State Altoona 7, Wentworth 1
The Lions got on the board in the second inning when sophomore Dan Dwyer (Havertown, Pa.) doubled in sophomore Josh DeGol (Altoona, Pa.) who had a one-out single and stole second. An inning later Altoona added a pair of runs when freshman Austin Anderson (Macungie, Pa.) singled and classmate Kevin Bier (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) had a bunt single, both coming with no one out. Sophomore Jim Shomberg (Lansdale, Pa.) cleared the bases when he laced a triple to left center.

Altoona scored four times in the fourth inning to make it 7-0. Sophomores Chris Michaelis (Albany, N.Y.) hit back-to-back singles and Anderson reached on an error to load the bases. Beir reached on a fielder's choice to score Michaelis and Shomberg hit his second two-run triple of the contest before coming in to score on a freshman Dylan Bates (Towanda, Pa.) single.

Wentworth scored its lone run of the contest in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) hit a double to center to drive in classmate Tim Elrick (Buzzards Bay, Mass.), who led off with a single.

Junior Mike Marley (Middletown, N.J.) picked up the win (1-2) as he allowed one run on five hits and struck out seven in a complete-game effort. Shomberg was the lone Lion to record two hits, as he hit a pair of triples and drove in four runs.

Junior Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) toom the loss (0-2), allowing seven runs (three earned) on nine hits and struck out six, also going the distance. Five different players had hits for Wentworth.

GAME TWO:  Penn State Altoona 8, Wentworth 7
Altoona took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Beir and Shomberg led off with back-to-back singles and went to third on a Bates sacrifice bunt. Freshman Gavin Roselli (Coatesville, Pa.) drove in Beir with a groundout.

Wentworth evened the score in the bottom of the second inning as senior Johnny Ryan (Brandt Rock, Mass.) led off by reaching on an error and went to third on a junior Jimmy Temte (Northborough, Mass.) double. Ryan came in to score on a freshman Jake Smith (Orange, Conn.) sacrifice fly,

The Lions plated single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 3-1 lead. In the fifth inning Shomberg had a two-out single and went to third on a Bates single before coming home to score on a wild pitch. An inning later Dwyer led off with a single and went to second on a DeGol sacrifice bunt. An error would allow Dwyer to score.

Wentworth pulled within a run in the bottom of the sixth when Weninger led off with a double down the right field line and went to third on a junior Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) single. One batter later he would score when Ryan ground out to drive him in.

Altoona scored five times in the top of the seventh to take an 8-2 lead. Shomberg led off with a walk and went to second on a bunt single from Bates. Michaelis reached on a fielder's choice when Bates went to second on an error to load the bases. Dwyer followed with an RBI single and DeGol drove in a pair with a single of his own. A fielder's choice allowed for sophomore Jarrett Fulmer (Clearfield, Pa.) to reach, however Dwyer was thrown out trying to score. Anderson delivered an RBI single and Fulmer scored on a passed ball.

The Leopards would not go quietly in the home half of the seventh, scoring five times and nearly tying the game. With one out, freshman Matt Smith (Horseheads, N.Y.) singled up the middle stole second. He went to third on a wild pitch when junior Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) walked and scored on a wild pitch which moved Ferri into scoring position. Freshman Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.) laced a double to center to score Ferri and he went to third on a Weninger infield single. A single by Burst drove in Golebiewski and moved Weninger to second.

Bates was moved from third base to pitch in an attempt to close out the game. Burst singled to score Golebiewski and moved Weninger to second. Both runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, and, after Ryan drew a walk to load the bases, Temte plated Weninger when he grounded out, making it 8-6. Burst would cut the deficit one a single run on a wild pitch which moved Ryan to third. Jake Smith walked and was replaced by senior Corey Jerolmon (New Milford, Conn.) as a pinch runner and he took second on defensive indifference. However, the rally ended on a fly out to center.

Sophomore Luke Stano (Nesquehoning, Pa.) improved to 2-1 as he allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 6.1 innings of work. Bates notched his first save of the season allowing a run and two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Five players recorded two hits each for Altoona, including DeGol who also drove in two runs.

Weninger fell to 0-3 on the season as he allowed eight runs (four earned) on 12 hits and struck out three in 6.2 innings of work. Freshman Ben Rexford (Lancaster, N.H.) retired the only batter he faced. At the plate, Weninger, Burst, and Matt Smith had two hits each.

The Leopards wrap up their Florida trip on Saturday with a doubleheader against WPI.