Baseball | 3/7/2017 9:55:00 PM

Boxscore FORT PIERCE, Fla. (March 7, 2017) – The Widener University baseball team fell to Penn State Behrend by a 14-12 score on Tuesday afternoon in Florida.

The Pride came out strong immediately getting on the board earning four runs to put them ahead 4-0 in the bottom of the first frame. Senior Mike Elfreth (Washington Township, N.J. ) set the tone opening up the inning by knocking in a triple to center field. Senior Greg McDonough (Ambler, Pa.)  then hit a single giving Elfreth the opportunity to score the first run. Senior Bob Barnett (Glenolden, Pa.) followed up with an RBI double to center field and senior Justin Czupryna (Roxbury, N.J.) padded the lead bringing in two more runs with a double to left field.

After the teams traded runs in the second and thirds frames, Widener was able to pull away with another 4-0 run in the fourth inning giving them a 9-4 lead. Sophomore Brennan Taylor (Maple Shade, N.J.) set the momentum in the fourth by scoring off a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Shortly after, Barnett singled to center field batting in two more runs. The Pride would then collect one more run to end the inning with an RBI from junior Kyle Lowery (Norristown, Pa.).

Widener collected 15 hits in the high-scoring affair, however, it was not enough to pull away with the victory after dropping it's lead in the fifth-inning. The Pride had an opportunity to rally in the eighth-inning bringing in two more runs but fell short of the victory 14-12.

Sam Riley picked up the victory for Penn State Behrend (2-5). He pitched four innings, surrendered three runs, five hits, and struck out three. Freshman Kevin Hommen (Ridgewood, N.J.) took the loss for Widener pitching one-third of an inning, giving up six runs, three hits, and striking out one.

Widener (5-2) will return to action when it takes on La Roche Wednesday, March 8 at 4:30 P.M. in Fort Pierce, Fla.