DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The Delaware Valley University baseball team exploded for a program-record 28 runs thanks to a 17-run fourth inning en route to a convincing 28-11 non-conference triumph over visiting Penn State Berks on a chilly Tuesday afternoon.
The Aggies (12-16) gave the ball to right-hander Ridge Watson to start the game and he retired the Nittany Lions (12-15) in order in the top of the first.
Timmy Lallis led off the game at the plate and hit a single back up the middle. He stole second to get into scoring position and Hank Bielen drove him home with a single to right-center field to make it 1-0 after one.
Berks responded in the second with three runs on three hits and one error. Griffin Kay sparked the run with a successful suicide squeeze that plated Chad Evans.
DelVal broke the game open with eight runs on seven hits over the next two frames to go ahead, 9-3, after three. Kenny Tunison highlighted that stretch with a lead off home run to the opposite field to lead off the bottom of the third. Meanwhile, relievers Cole Holsinger and Dakota George combined to keep the Nittany Lions off the board in the third and the fourth to and kept it a six-run game before the big fourth inning rally.
Bielen started the run with a lead off single through the left side and the Aggies got their first six batters on base and scored three runs before the first out. Brendan Hoagland highlighted the run with two hits in the inning and four RBI. His first at-bat he pulled a single down the right field line to drive in a run, and later in the frame he delivered a three-run home run over the fence in right-center, his second homer of the year.
Reese Hackett had two RBI singles in the inning while Andrew Panfile, Garrett Zimmerman, Tony Mrozowski, Evan Scally, and Reese Hackett also joined the rally with RBI singles. The Aggies sent 20 batters to the plate and racked up 17 runs on 10 hits while eclipsing the previous program-record for runs in a single game as they took a 26-3 lead into the fifth. The previous single-game mark was 25 runs set in 1997 in a game against Swarthmore.
George came out to pitch the fifth and tossed a scoreless frame, but Berks did manage four runs on four hits and on error in the top of the sixth, and added one more in the seventh to make it 26-8.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Mellinger drove in a run with an RBI double and Scally picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly as the Aggies cruised the rest of the way to the 28-11 victory.
DelVal racked up 24 hits in the game from 15 different players and finished three hits shy of tying the single-game mark. Hoagland led the team with four RBI and Drews was 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored. Six different players saw time on the mound with Watson earning the win. Kyle Bailey, Garvey Williams, and Liam Bennett each pitched an inning.
Berks finished with 11 runs on 16 hits led by a 3-for-4 effort from Kolbie Reeser who scored three times.
DelVal will look to keep it rolling with another non-conference tilt at Cairn on Wednesday, April 20 at 3:30 p.m.
