Myrtle Beach, S.C. - Through the first night of action in the spring break trip in Myrtle Beach, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's baseball team swiped their first split of the season over Penn State University Athletic Conference adversary, Penn State Schuylkill, by margins of 8-4 and 9-8.
Through game one, junior right-handed pitcher Luke Padezan (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) pitched the complete game, letting up just four hits through 28 batters in seven innings.
Greater Allegheny was first on the board in the contest, as junior first baseman Joshua Arroyo (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico/Levittown Baptist Academy) brought home senior outfielder Mark Hollis (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), 1-0 GA.
GA continued to score in the top of the second, as the Lions continued to pepper Schuylkill. Freshman shortstop Brian Koglin (Indiana, Pa./Fox Chapel) reached base on a fielders choice, pushing freshman designated hitter Jarod Kashner (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) to score. Arroyo singled to bat home both Koglin and junior second baseman Adam Jacko (North Versailles, Pa./East Allegheny), 4-0 GA.
Sophomore third baseman Dylan Finocchi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) singled to center-field to bat home Hollis. Kashner singled to bring home Arroyo before sophomore outfielder Alex Myers (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) walked to push Finocchi home, Greater Allegheny now leading 7-0.
Schuylkill managed to get one over home in the bottom of the inning before Greater Allegheny got another one in the top of the fourth as Arroyo scored, 8-1.
Schuylkill scored two in the fifth and one in the sixth to finish game one, 8-4 GA.
Arroyo went 3-of-4 in game one with three runs batted in alongside two runs scored himself. Kashner went 1-of-3 with two RBI and one run scored himself.
Game two started with Schuylkill scoring in the first, 1-0. But that didn't last long.
Kashner sacrifice flied out to score Finocchi and tie the game at one. Freshman infielder Pedro Escobar (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) grounded out to score Ernst before Jacko singled to drive home Myers, 3-1 Greater Allegheny.
Schuylkill managed one more in the top of the third before the Lions came back to bat. Arroyo doubled down the left field line to score freshman pinch runner Blake Flocker (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) as Kashner doubled to left field to score Arroyo, 5-2 Greater Allegheny.
Senior catcher Francisco Del Rio (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Academy) singled to right field to score Jacko, 6-2.
Schuylkill then went on to score one in the fifth and five total runs in the top of the sixthto put Greater Allegheny down 8-6.
The bottom of the sixth brought runs from Jacko and Hollis to tie the game at eight. The top of the seventh brought one last Schuylkill run to take the narrow win, 9-8.
Through game two, Arroyo went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored as Jacko went 3-of-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Kashner hit 2-of-4 with one run batted in while Del Rio went 2-of-4 with two RBI.
Junior right-handed pitcher Daniel Daly (Glassport, Pa./South Allegheny) pitched five innings with 24 batters faced, letting up just six hits with three strikeouts.
Greater Allegheny (1-1) looks on to play John Wood Community College, Tuesday night, at Myrtle Beach's Cal Ripken Experience. The contest is set for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch at Griffith Field.
