WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Senior Brody Lindsey (Monrovia, Md. / DeMatha Catholic) swatted three extra-base hits and crushed his fourth home run of the season to lead the Lycoming College baseball team, which fell, 4-3 and 10-5, in a Landmark Conference doubleheader to the University of Scranton on Saturday afternoon, April 11 at Brandon Park.
Lindsey's four-hit day kept Lycoming (14-17, 7-12 Landmark) right on the heels of Scranton (22-7, 11-3 Landmark) as the Warriors pounded out 20 hits on the afternoon.
In the bottom of the first in the opener, Lycoming took the lead. Senior Nick Reeder (Montoursville, Pa. / Montoursville Area) led off with a single and moved to second on a hit from senior Sean Perkins (Berlin, N.J. / Eastern Regional). With one out, Lindsey ripped a ground-rule double into the left-field corner, scoring Reeder for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained there until the fifth, when Reeder legged out an infield hit and an error put two on with no outs. After a wild pitch, senior AJ Llorente (Williamsport, Pa. / Montoursville Area) roped a two-run single to right-center, scoring both runners to give the Warriors a 3-0 advantage.
Llorente also excelled on the mound over the first five innings, scattering just three hits and striking out a season-high six batters over that time. In the sixth, though, Scranton came through with two singles and a walk to load the bases for Vincent Napolitano, who hit a grand slam that gave the Royals a 4-3 advantage.
The Warriors made some noise in the final two frames, putting two on with one out in the eighth before being turned back. In the ninth, a Perkins walk, Llorente single, and a wild pitch put two in scoring position for Lindsey, but he flew to deep center to end the game.
Lindsey, Llorente, Perkins, and Reeder all had two hits apiece to lead an 11-hit attack, while Llorente added a pair of RBIs. Sophomore right-hander Lex Nelsen (Freehold, N.J. / Freehold Township) worked three scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit and no walks with a strikeout. Senior Joel Inman (Berlin, N.J. / Eastern Regional) threw a scoreless ninth in relief as well.
Napolitano's grand slam drove in all four Scranton runs, while three Royal relievers combined for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen to nail down the win for Scranton.
In game two, Scranton struck first with two runs on three hits in the first, but Lycoming immediately responded. Llorente blooped a double with two outs, then Lindsey crushed a 2-1 offering 403 feet down the left field line for a no-doubt two-run shot that evened the game at two apiece.
The Royals, though, regained the lead in the third. Following a leadoff single and a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a groundout had the Warriors on the verge of escaping the inning, but Hunter Petrich ripped a two-run double to left, which was followed by an RBI double from Aidan Casey that stretched the Scranton lead to 5-2.
Two innings later, Scranton continued to add on. Back-to-back hits opened the inning before Casey and Jimmy Lundari each lifted sacrifice flies to right, pushing the Royal lead to 7-2.
Lycoming scored three in the bottom of the fifth. With two on and out out, Lindsey ripped his second RBI double of the afternoon. Two batters later, senior Josh Bottger (Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Wilkes-Barre Area) snuck a single up the middle to score two more, closing the gap to 7-5.
Scranton re-established the five-run margin over the next two innings.
Lindsey doubled, homered, and drove in three for Lycoming, while Bottger added two hits and two RBI. Senior right-hander Treyson Green (Celebration, Fla. / Windermere Prep) turned in 2 1/3 scoreless innings with a season-high four strikeouts in relief.
Petrich doubled twice and drove in three for Scranton, who also received two hits and two RBI from Lundari. Matt Scepkowski spun 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win for the Royals in the nightcap.
Lycoming and Scranton will finish the three-game Landmark Conference series on Sunday, April 12. First pitch is scheduled for noon from Brandon Park.
