Late Miscues Cost Lions in 5–3 Loss to Shenango
Late Miscues Cost Lions in 5–3 Loss to Shenango
Despite a strong start and a pair of extra-base hits from Bryan Calderon and Adrian Cruz, Penn State New Kensington couldn't hold off a persistent Penn State Shenango squad, falling 5–3 on Wednesday evening.
The Lions opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Adrian Cruz launched a triple into right field, bringing home Chris Magnee and Caden Rupert to give New Kensington an early 2–0 lead. Shenango responded in the top half of the inning with two runs of their own, including a Jason Malley RBI double and a run scoring on a fielding error.
Chris Magnee continued to produce at the plate in the third inning, lining a single to left to score William Celko and momentarily tie the game at 2–2. However, a base-running miscue cut the rally short, and the Lions wouldn't find home plate again.
Shenango capitalized on New Kensington's defensive miscues, scoring three more runs across the fourth and sixth innings — two of which were unearned. Key doubles from Remington Hart and Nate Evans extended Shenango's lead and helped put the game out of reach.
On the mound, Nathan Mecke pitched a complete game for the Lions, allowing just five hits and three earned runs across six innings, but was ultimately tagged with the loss (3–3). He struck out four and walked two while hitting one batter.
Offensively, Calderon led the Lions with a 3-for-3 day, including two doubles. Cruz added a two-run triple, and Magnee reached base three times and drove in one.
Despite outhitting Shenango 6–5, New Kensington was undone by four defensive errors and stranded seven runners on base.
Penn State New Kensington Stats
Batting
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Hits: Bryan Calderon (3), Adrian Cruz (2), Chris Magnee (1)
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Extra-Base Hits: Calderon (2 2B), Cruz (3B)
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RBIs: Adrian Cruz (2), Chris Magnee (1)
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Runs Scored: Chris Magnee, Caden Rupert, William Celko
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Stolen Bases: Caden Rupert
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Sacrifice Hits: Vaughn Gallicano (2)
Pitching
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Nathan Mecke (L, 3–3) – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 4 SO, 0 HR
Fielding
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Errors: Nat Greenslet, Bryan Calderon (2), Ryan Clearwater
