Baseball: Wildcats Through to PSUAC Championship After Win Over PSU Brandywine

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - After losing to No. 1 Penn State Greater Allegheny 6-2 in its first game of the day, the Pennsylvania College of Technology bounced back defeated No. 3 Penn State Brandywine 5-2 stamping its ticket to the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) championship game. Sophomore Matthew Demilio (Greensburg) recorded the win against Brandywine allowing only six hits. The Wildcats will face Greater Allegheny in the championship match Saturday and must defeat them twice to win the trophy.

Penn College (21-14, 18-3 PSUAC) struggled offensively against Greater Allegheny in the winners bracket game earlier in the day with sophomore Travis Hendershot (Muncy) recording the only hit for the team. Despite the lack of hits, the team struck first in the top of the third with two runs. After the first two batters reached on a walk and error, sophomore Zachary Weil (Kutztown) and junior Joshua Longsderff (Columbia) each hit sacrifice flys to score the runs.

The lead was short lived after the Lions put up all its six runs in the bottom of the inning off of six hits and a crucial two-out error. Junior Brian Santangelo (Middletown, Conn.) recorded the loss giving up one earned run and nine hits. Freshman Luke Zamiski finished out the game pitching 3 1/3 with no earned runs.

In a must-win game against Brandywine, Demilio got the start pitching all seven innings. Brandywine scored an early run in the first, but the Wildcats took the lead in the bottom as junior Cody Buterbaugh (Conestoga) and Hendershot each recorded an RBI.

Freshman Rantz Mahaffey (Linden) drew a bases-loaded walk in the third to make it 3-1 in favor of Penn College. The next inning, Hendershot recorded his second RBI of the game with a single making it 4-1.

A controversial interference call in the fifth turned a possible big innings for the Lions into only one-run. Hendershot sealed the win in the sixth with another RBI off a single bringing his total of the game to two hits and three RBI. The Wildcats totaled nine hits in the game with freshman Jeremy Rall (Williamsport) recording two hits.

Penn College and Greater Allegheny will face off for the championship at noon at Medlar Field on the campus of Penn State University. If Penn College wins game one, the second game will begin at 3 p.m.