Crusaders Drop Two Close Games to #1 PSU Schuylkill

Game 1
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the Crusaders traveled to Penn State Schuylkill, the #1 ranked team in the USCAA, to take on the Nittany Lions in a double header. In the first game, the Crusaders faced some tough pitching and their bats were quiet, managing only three hits. Freshman Kolbe Heisler and Sophomore Ian Heisler both had singles, and Freshman Mike Mersch crushed a ball that led to a double, but that was all the offense the Crusaders could generate. At times, the Crusaders hit the ball, but failed to find the gaps and string together hit. They left 7 runners on base, while Schuylkill turned their hits and base runners into runs. Penn State scored 4 runs in the bottom of the second and added 2 more runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat the Crusaders 6-0.

Game 2
In the second game of the afternoon, Schuylkill started off the scoring with a homerun off of Junior Ben Dunphy in the bottom of the first, while the Crusaders were held scoreless until the top of the third when Junior Pete Day came to the plate. With runners on first and second, Day smashed a 3 run homerun to make it 3-1. The Nittany Lions fought back and scored one run in the bottom half of the third inning and finally pulled away in the bottom of the fourth to win the game 5-3. Day led the team with 2 hits, Mike Urankar and Stephen Buonocore each had a single.

The Crusaders return to action when they play Stratford University at Bing Crosby Stadium this Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25.