JENKINTOWN, PA – Sean Doherty hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Penn State Abington to a 6-5, non-conference victory over York College of Pennsylvania in the Nittany Lions' home opener.


Penn State Abington improved to 9-7 on the season while the Spartans, who are the defending Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth champions, fell to 7-8.

The Nittany Lions held a 5-2 lead in the seventh inning after Ryan McCarty, who entered the week tied for the home run lead in all of Division III, smacked his ninth round-tripper of the season.  

However, York College's Joe Capobianco tied the ball game up with a massive three-run homer in the eighth inning. It stayed 5-5 until the bottom of the ninth when Tim Petrucelli got on base for Penn State Abington with a two-out double. That brought Doherty to the plate and he hit a single into left field that brought home Petrucelli for the game-winner.

The hit differential between the two squads was stark, with York only having six compared to Abington's 14. Freshman Chase Swain led the Nittany Lions with three hits, one of which was a solo home run in the fifth inning. McCarty finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Andrew Lastowka had a 3-for-3 showing.

Joe DiMaria was vital to keeping the Spartans at bay for most of the afternoon as he allowed only two runs (one earned) and three hits in seven innings while striking out six. McCarty picked up the win in relief.

Penn State Abington will begin a three-game, United East Conference series at St. Mary's College of Maryland on Friday, March 25.