LHU Baseball falls to IUP in extra innings, 9-7

LOCK HAVEN– The Lock Haven baseball team (6-13 overall) fell to IUP (7-4 overall), 9-7, in a 10-inning thriller in non-conference action at Watkins Field on Tuesday (March 19).

In a battle of PSAC East vs. West, the clubs traded leads through the opening four innings before both pitching staffs started to settle in.

IUP opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but Lock Haven quickly responded with a four-spot in the bottom half to take a 4-2 lead.

Greg Cristino (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial), Zachary McEllroy (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) and Joseph DeSiena (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast) drove in runs during the Bald Eagles’ rally.

However, IUP responded with five runs over the third and fourth inning to regain the advantage at 7-5.

DeSiena picked up his second RBI of the afternoon in the bottom of the third to give the Bald Eagles their fifth run.

With both teams deep into their bullpens, both offenses went cold and no runs were scored through the next three innings.

Cristino cut the Bald Eagles’ deficit to one in the bottom of the seventh when he blasted his second home run of the season, a no-doubter to left field.

Lock Haven knotted the score at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth when Gavin Neal (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) doubled to left field to plate Jake Ambrosio (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts).

After neither team ended things in the ninth, IUP pushed across two runs in the top of the 10th to lead 9-7 heading into the final at-bats for The Haven.

The Crimson Hawks set Lock Haven down in order to secure the victory.

The Bald Eagles sent six pitchers to the mound on the afternoon, led by scoreless innings in relief by John Lucas Sanchez (Middletown, Pa./Middleton) and Jared Colledge (Everett, Pa./Everett Area).

Five different Bald Eagles recorded multiple hits, while Cristino homered and Ambrosio finished 3-for-4.

NEXT UP

The Bald Eagles begin a four-game PSAC East series against West Chester on Friday (March 22) by hosting the Golden Rams at 1 p.m. (DH) at Watkins Field.