SALISBURY, MD – Chase Swain and Ryan McCarty each homered twice, including back-to-back bombes in a dramatic 12th inning, as Penn State Abington defeated defending national champion and eighth-ranked Salisbury University, 9-5, on Tuesday.
The win improved the Nittany Lions to 8-4 on the yea while the Sea Gulls, fell to 10-6. It was the first time the two played against each other since the 2019 NCAA Division III playoffs when Penn State Abington made its first and lone appearance in the national tournament.
After both teams had chances but held each other scoreless for two extra innings, Andrew Lastowka and Louis Rossner drew back-to-back walks to start the top of the 12th. Up stepped Swain and the freshman sent a shot over the left field fence for an 8-5 advantage.
McCarty followed with a solo shot and set the school single-season record in the process as it was his eighth round-tripper of the season. As a team, the Nittany Lions have set a record with 20 home runs in the first 12 games of the year. McCarty then pitched his fifth inning of relief and sealed the win and a celebration.
Penn State Abington trailed early, after Kavi Caster scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first, setting up a Stephen Rice run. The Nittany Lions cut into the lead the next inning, with a Rossner single that drove in Jaden Himmelreich.
The Sea Gulls once again put up two more runs in the bottom of the second, but Penn Abington's bats didn't stay quiet. McCarty homered in the top of the third while Swain followed things up with a two-run home run in the fourth.
Salisbury regained the lead in the fifth on a solo home run by Scott Cameron, but Lastowka tied it in the eighth with an RBI double that plated Himmelreich. That set the stage for the extra-inning dramatics and one of the biggest wins in school history.
Swain went 3-for-7 with the two home runs and five RBIs. McCarty was 2-for-4 with two solo bombs and he also pitched five scoreless innings of relief, permitting just two hits and striking out four to get the win. Rosnner (3-for-5), Himmelreich (2-for-5) and Lastowka (2-for-4) had multiple-hit performances while combining to score five runs. The bullpen allowed just one run in 10-plus innings of work.
Penn State Abington opens United East Conference action on Friday as the Nittany Lions travel to Penn State Harrisburg in a rematch of last year's conference championship that was won by Harrisburg. The teams will play a single game on Friday and follow with a doubleheader on Saturday.