ALTOONA, Pa. - Hood College scored six runs in the seventh inning to complete a comeback from a seven-run deficit for an 8-7 win over Penn St.-Altoona. The game two comeback came after the Lions won the first game with a walk-off single, 5-4.
Josh Gall (Odenton, Md. / Arundel) had three hits in the opener and finished the doubleheader with five runs batted in. Chris Shriver (Frederick, Md. / Gov. Thomas Johnson) had three hits in game two and knocked in four runs during the two contests.
PENN ST.-ALTOONA 5, HOOD 4
The Blazers tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh, but a walk-off single by Bryce Greene gave the Nittany Lions a 5-4 victory.
In the top of the seventh, Drake Friend (Gladwyne, Pa. / Harriton) led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a one-out double by Brooks Warrenfeltz (Middletown, Md. / Middletown). Dylan Johnson (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) drove in a run with a single to make it 4-3, before an RBI single by Gall brought home Warrenfeltz to tie things up.
Dan Bier led off the bottom of the inning with a single and was bunted over to second base. Greene followed with a base hit to knock in the winning run.
Gall went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Warrenfeltz doubled twice.
Johnson started the game on the mound before moving to first base in the sixth. He tossed four innings and gave up four runs on five hits and four walks.Kole Hearn (Seaford, Del. / Sussex Tech) took the loss, allowing just one run in 2.1 innings.
An RBI double by Gall gave Hood the lead in the top of the first, but Greene drove home a run in the bottom of the frame to tie the teams at 1-1.
Gall scored the Blazers' next run on a base hit by Shriver in the third for a 2-1 lead, but the Lions responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jack Cleary, who scored the go-ahead run in the third, hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to make it 4-2.
Greene and Bier had two hits apiece for Penn St.-Altoona.
Reliever Jonathan Bonica picked up the win for the Lions. He pitched 0.2 innings. Starter Jeffrey Cannova went 6.1 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out seven.
HOOD 8, PENN ST.-ALTOONA 7
Hood executed a safety squeeze to score its sixth run of the seventh inning, completing a comeback from down 7-0 for the 8-7 victory.
The Blazers trailed by seven entering the sixth inning. Warrenfeltz reached on an error to lead off the inning and Johnson walked to put two runners on. After a wild pitch, Gall drove home a run on a ground out and reached on an error. Shriver followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2.
In the seventh, pinch hitter Nat Puryear (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) led off the inning with a single. The next two batters, pinch hitter Daniel Patterson(Brunswick, Md. / Brunswick) and Cameron Esposito (Columbia, N.J. / North Warren Regional) both walked to load the bases. Warrenfeltz drew his fourth bases loaded walk of the week to make it 7-3. Gall followed with a two-run single down the line in right field to bring the Blazers within two. Shriver stepped to the plate and ripped a game-tying triple, scoring Warrenfeltz and Gall.
Tied at 7-7, John Cartagena (Brookfield, Conn. / Immaculate) laid down a bunt that found its way to the second baseman on the safety squeeze, allowing Shriver to come home with the winning run.
Michael Hernandez (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield) pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.
Shriver doubled, tripled and knocked in three runs. Gall was 1-for-4 and drove in three.
Blake Krisan (Mount Dora, Fla. / Mount Dora Bible) recorded the win in relief. He tossed 1.1 innings, retiring all four batters he faced. Cameron Fitzgerald(Bowie, Md. / DeMatha Catholic) allowed seven runs, four earned, in 4.2 innings.
Luke Stano took the loss in relief. He allowed four runs in one inning on two hits and two walks. Starter Mike Keeler pitched into the seventh and allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings. He surrendered just three hits, but walked four.
The Lions scored three runs in the first. Greene and Cleary successfully operated a double steal with Cleary coming home for a 1-0 lead. Pat McHenry had a two-run double in the inning, as well.
Tyler Auerbeck hit a two-run homer in the third and an error in the fifth brought in two more runs for a 7-0 lead.
Cleary had two hits.
Hood wraps up a stretch of seven games in four days with a home doubleheader against Lancaster Bible on April 27. First pitch at Frederick Community College is set for 2 p.m.