Brandywine Earns United East Doubleheader Sweep

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Penn State Brandywine baseball team evened its conference record at 2-2 after sweeping a doubleheader from Rosemont by scores of 3-0 and 12-6 on Saturday afternoon.

Game One: Penn State Brandywine 3, Rosemont 0

A pitchers' duel broke out in game one as the team were scoreless through five innings before the Lions broke through for three runs.

Three Brandywine pitchers combined to spin the Lions' second shutout of the season. Nate Romberger (Collegeville, Pa./The Perkiomen School) worked the first five innings, while Matt Delacruz (Exton, Pa./West Chester East) went the next three frames. Romberger matched a career high with eight strikeouts and limited the Ravens to four hits, but did not factor into the decision. Delacruz did not yield a hit and fanned one to record his first win.

Josh Hess (Panama City, Fla./Arnold) earned his first save after working out of trouble in the ninth. The first two Rosemont hitters reached base against Hess, but he retired the next three batters he faced, including a strikeout of Ryan Bowman, to end the game.

Ivano Romaniello (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) led the Brandywine offense, collecting two of the Lions' five knocks. His run-scoring single got the scoring started during a three-run sixth innings for the Lions.

Will Collison (Chestertown, Md./Queen Anne's County) swiped home as part of a double steal, while Romaniello came around to score via error for Brandywine's third run.

Game Two: Penn State Brandywine 12, Rosemont 6

The teams got the bats going in game two, combining for 18 runs on 30 hits in a 12-6 Brandywine victory.

Brandywine scored during each of its first six at-bats, including a five-run first inning to answer a Raven run in the top of the frame. Jamey Massung (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) tied the score with a RBI single, while Collison and Massung came around to score via wild pitches. David Kursman (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) and Luke DeVita (Howell, N.J./Howell) delivered two-out base hits that both produced a run to make the score 5-1 through one inning.

Ryan Snyder (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) stole third and scored via throwing error in the second, while Jason Hankins (Chichester, Pa./Chichester) crossed home thanks to a wild pitch and Ryan Brown (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) lifted a sacrifice fly in the third.

Romaniello accounted for the Lions' lone run of the fourth inning when he stole home. One frame later, Collison notched a RBI base hit that made the count 10-5. Snyder's two-run single capped the scoring in the sixth inning.

Eight of the Lions' nine starters recorded a hit, including two-hit efforts from Snyder, Massung, Hankins, Kursman and Noah Currier (New Castle, Del./William Penn). Snyder scored three runs, while Romaniello and Hankins both crossed home twice.

Brandywine swiped 12 bases in as many attempts. Snyder stole five bags, while Currier stole three and Romaniello had two stolen bases.

Nick Gordon (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) earned the win after allowing three earned runs in three innings of work, while striking out one. Will Gallagher (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harriton) tossed two scoreless relief innings and Noah Walker (Bremen, Ga./Bremen) retired the side in order in the ninth.

Brandywine (8-10, 2-2 UEC) plays its first road game since Feb. 28 on Wednesday when the Lions visit Valley Forge at 3:00 PM.