Crusader Baseball Splits Road Series Against Central Penn

Summerdale, Pennsylvania- Christendom went up to play against Central Penn College on Wednesday, where they lost the first game, but picked up a big win in the second game. 

In the first game, the Crusaders lost by a score of 12-2. 

The Knights of Central Penn picked up a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. 

The Crusaders had 7 hits in this first outing, with Stephen Buonocore and Frank Scarchilli knocking in the two runs for Christendom. 

Alex Hoover led the Knights offensively, who posted 3 hits with three RBI’s. 

The second game was a much better display of baseball from the Crusaders, picking up a 7-5 win. 

Christendom was hitting the ball throughout the course of this game, with 5 different players logging in RBI’s. Kevin Dow, Caleb Wilson, Frank Scarchilli, Stephen Buonocore, and Anthony Palumbo knocked runners in, with Palumbo accounting for 2 RBI’s. Thomas Dunnphy and Tommy Sullivan both hit the ball well as well, with Dunphy going 2-4 and Sullivan going 2-3. 

In this game, it was the Crusaders who took an early first inning lead, opening the game by scoring four runs, propelled by a triple from Buonocore and a double by Scharchilli. By the end of the second inning, Christendom scored one more, making it a 5-0 lead. Central Penn would not go out quietly, however. Throughout the course of the third and fourth innings, they stormed back into the game, mainly propelled by two home runs in the third. The Knights would ultimately end up tying the game at 5-5 by the end of the fourth. In the top of the sixth inning, the Crusdaders scored two runs to make it a 7-5 lead. The first of these runs came with runners on first and third, and after the pitcher stepped off the mound multiple times, he ended up committing a balk, allowing the runner on third to come home for what ultimately ended up being the deciding run. After that play, Kevin Dow hit a single knocking in Dunphy to secure the 7-5 lead. In the bottom of the seventh and final inning, the Knights made one last push to try and win the ballgame. The Knights got a man on base with two outs, bringing up the Knights’ all-time home run and RBI leader with an opportunity to tie the game with Tommy Sullivan on the mound. Sullivan fell behind in the count, throwing three straight balls to start. Sullivan proceeded to regain his composure and strike the batter out on three straight pitches, securing the win for the Crusaders. 

Kevin Dow picked up the win for the Crusaders on the mound, allowing two runs in 4 innings, while striking out 3 batters. 

The Crusaders will be facing this team again shortly, however, with a home doubleheader aginst the Knights on April 23.