Sharp leaves leaves the yard twice, Lions back to .500

Drifton, PA - Penn State Hazleton remained on a roll as they took on Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. With two wins today, the Nittany Lions have clawed their way back into postseason contention and reached the .500 mark for the year at 7-7. After trailing by a five run deficit in game one, the Lions pounced on opposing pitching, scoring 10 unanswered to win the ball game 10-5. Game two was in hand from the second inning on as Hazleton put up a crooked number in inning and extended the lead to the final score of 10-1.

Game 1: Penn State Hazleton 10, Penn State Wilkes-Barre 5

Top 1: Francis Brodi puts Wilkes-Barre up early with a 2 RBI single to left field. Two batters later, Eric Adamczyk drives in Brodi with a single of his own to extend the early lead to 3-0.

Top 3: Alex Klinger leads off with a base hit and works his way around to third base. Once again Adamczyk picks up the runner with his second RBI single, pushing the score to 4-0.

Top 4: A lead off triple from Alan Gulbierz sets the tone for Wilkes-Barre. Hazleton limits the damage, but Gulbierz scores on a sacrifice fly to right center.

Bottom 4: Two outs to begin the inning looks like another quick at bat for Hazleton, until Brian Griest singles to center. Ryan Weidick follows up with line drive single to put runners at the corners. Thomas Sharp breaks up the shutout with towering three run bomb over the right field fence to cut the score to 5-3.

Bottom 5: Five of six Hazleton batters reach base including an RBI double from Cody Ryba and an RBI single from Brian Griest. Two miscues on the bases rescue Wilke-Barre from a second straight big inning, but not before the Lions knot the score at 5-5.

Bottom 6: Tommy Sharp put the Lions up the Lions up for good with a one-out solo blast to right field. The Nittany Lions pressure Wilkes-Barre pitching, sending nine to the plate, and Joseph Nigito drives in two runs to cap the inning on a single through the infield, extending the lead to 10-5.

Behind the Box Score:

• Sharp sparks the Lions with two home runs and four RBI.
• Charlie Karchner gets stronger as the game progress, retires 12 of the final 15 batters for Wilkes-Barre en route to his second win of the year. Karchner throw complete game allowing five runs on seven hits, while striking out seven.
• Hazleton batters collect nine hits in the final three innings to complete the comeback.

Game 2: Penn State Hazleton 10, Penn State Wilkes-Barre 1

Top 2: Wilkes-Barre manufactures a run with two productive outs following a lead off double from Eric Gurzynski.

Bottom 2: Consecutive doubles from Joe Nigito and Ryan Weidick drive in three runs to conclude a six run inning for the Lions. Hazleton picks up four hits with two outs to break the game open, sending ten batters to the plate in the second inning.

Bottom 3: Richard Hobbs singles and scores on a throwing error by the Wilkes-Barre pitcher. Tyler Myers scores after a reaching base on a free pass, courtesy of a Starlin Colon line drive single to the outfield, putting Hazleton up 8-1.

Bottom 5: Nigito collects his third hit of the game, driving in Cody Ryba from second base. Ryan Weidick proceeds to smack a triple to right center field, scoring Nigito from first base and increasing the advantage to 10-1.

Behind the Box Score:

• Weidick comes up a home run shy of the cycle, with three RBI.
• Brian Griest pitches five efficient innings for the Lions, allowing just six baserunners on two hits and walk. Griest earns his second win of the year in the one run winning effort.
• Starlin Colon goes three for three at the dish with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases.

Next Up: Two days off for the Nittany Lions after a successful 3-1 weekend homestand. The Lions retake the field on Wednesday when Penn State Worthington Scranton comes to challenge the hot Hazleton hitters. Afternoon baseball kicks off at 2 PM at the Drifton Sports Complex.