LHU Baseball Eliminated at PSAC Tournament
JOHNSTOWN – The Lock Haven University baseball team (32-18) opened Friday’s action at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament with a loss to Seton Hill, before falling to West Chester in an elimination-game Friday night, which eliminated the Bald Eagles from the tournament.
The Bald Eagles opened the day with 7-4 loss to Seton Hill (34-18) and Lock Haven fell to No. 14 West Chester (35-10) 11-0.
The Bald Eagles opened the tournament with an 8-5 win over IUP on Wednesday and finished 1-2 overall at the championships.
Lock Haven is now 32-18 on the season, with the 32 wins marking an all-time single season record for wins.
Seton Hill 7 – Lock Haven 4
Seton Hill jumped on LHU early, scoring four runs in the top of the first and one each in the second, third and fourth inning, respectively on the way to the 7-4 victory. In all, the Griffins scored seven runs on nine hits.
Trailing 4-0 after a half inning, Lock Haven got the board quick, thanks to Matt Lahn (Georgetown, ONT./Erie Community College) and his two-run home run, which cut the SHU lead to two (4-2).
Lahn finished the game 3 for 4 with three RBIs.
The Bald Eagles did all they could to rally at the plate down the stretch. In the fifth Hunter Szaflarski (Greencastle, Pa./Hagerstown C.C.) singled in a run and Lahn had a RBI-single in the sixth, but Seton Hill still led 7-4.
Reliever Tom Cockill (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Mercer C.C.) entered to start the seventh and he backed up the rally with three strong innings of relief. Over the final three innings he limited Seton Hill to one hit and he struck out two.
Despite Cockill’s efforts and a rally at the plate, LHU finished with just four runs on 10 hits and Seton Hill held off the late charge.
Cayden Stover (Beech Creek, Pa./Chesapeake College) had a pair of hits for The Haven.
Despite the loss, starting pitcher Jacob Belinda (Port Matilda, Pa./Tyrone) struck out nine which ran his career strikeout total to 206, which is second all-time in school history.
#14 West Chester 11 – Lock Haven 0
No. 14 West Chester, the PSAC East’s top-seed broke open the game with a five-run fifth inning on the way to the 11-0 win, which ended LHU’s PSAC Tournament.
Szaflarski, Kolby DeHaas (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho/Wenatchee Valley C.C.), Tyson Petersheim (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot), Jamie Eshleman (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land), Evan McFarland (Cottonwood, Ariz./Gateway C.C.) and Sam Kysor (Port Allegany, Pa./USC Upstate) all registered hits for the Bald Eagles. McFarland was 2 for 3.
The Bald Eagles now await Sunday’s NCAA Division II Tournament Selection Show. The show is set for 10 p.m. Sunday.The top seven teams in Sunday night’s edition of the Atlantic Region ranking will advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Bald Eagles have been regionally ranked much of the season and were listed at No. 6 in the latest edition.
