BY: MONICA VEGA (mvega@smcm.edu)

St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team (7-18, 3-9 CAC) was able to split a Capital Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Penn State Harrisburg Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon, topping the Lions 6-5 in game one and dropping a 9-6 decision in game two.

Junior infielder Zach Rowe (Davidsonville, Md./Calvert Hall College) and sophomore outfielder Matt Bieler (Bowie, Md./Bowie) would record two hits and two runs each. Senior infielder Michael O'Neill (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) would also help pace the Seahawks with two hits and two RBI. The Seahawks would have nine hits to no errors for the first game.

With a double from sophomore shortstop Will Quiles (Tamiment, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) and a triple by first-year outfielder Justin O'Del (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) to get the scoring rally going for the Nittany Lions. Penn State Harrisburg took an early 4-0 lead in the second inning. The Seahawks would answer the rally with one run in the third, capitalizing on an error by the Lions which allowed Bieler to score.

After three scoreless innings, the Seahawks would be able to capture a total of four runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Down 4-3 in the seventh, St. Mary's senior Hayden Ferington (Centreville, Va./Westfield) would sacrifice fly to advance Bieler to home plate. Quickly after, O'Neill would come to bat and single to center allowing Rowe to stride to home plate for a one-run lead.

Penn State Harrisburg junior catcher Tom Dennisto (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) would fly out to left field for a sacrifice fly to score first-year Brett Arney (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) to tie up the game at the top of ninth. The Seahawks, however, would be able to close out the game with another prominent hit from O'Neill once again, scoring Rowe and securing a conference win.

Red-shirt junior Ben Goldsmith (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) would pitch for six innings in game one while junior Jimmy Robey (Kensington, Md./Gonzaga College) would contribute two and junior Matt Henigan (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) earned the win to move to 2-1 on the season.

Game two would follow the momentum of the day and proved to be another close battle. The Seahawks would find the board at the bottom of the third, trailing 2-0. Tying up the game would be Bieler who reached on an error allowing first-year Holden Marshall (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) to score. Rowe would then single to right field allowing junior Colin Thatcher (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) to see home plate.

The Lions would get a run in the fourth inning. The Seahawks would reply in the fifth, taking a one-run lead when Rowe singled to the right field allowing Bieler to score. This would propel the Seahawks' lead to one run.

The sixth inning would be a big one for Penn State Harrisburg as they went on a four-run rally. O'Del had a strong showing for the Nittany Lions, recording a double and RBI as well as taking advantage of a wild pitch to score.

Despite two more runs for the Seahawks in the seventh and the ninth, the Seahawks would fall short 9-6. Rowe would conclude the game with four hits and three RBI. Senior Garrett Pope (Port Republic, Md./Calvert) would work 5.1 innings and take the loss for the Seahawks. Senior Derek Slagle (York Haven, Pa./Red Land) would walk away with the win after seeing action in 2.0 innings of relief.

The Seahawks will be back in action on Wednesday, April 6 on the road at University of Mary Washington at 3:00 p.m.

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