Baseball Bests Penn State-Berks 7-4; Shank Earns 100th Career Win

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team defeated Penn State-Berks 7-4 Saturday evening at the Ripken Experience as head coach Chris Shank picked up his 100th career victory.

The Lions rise to 4-1 on the season with the win while the Nittany Lions dip to 0-1 overall.

Hernhy Lara (Boston, Mass.) posted three hits, four RBIs, and a pair of runs scored. Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) tallied three base knocks, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) finished with two hits and one RBI while Jaime Roldan (Boston, Mass.) added two hits and a run scored.

Eastern Nazarene plated three runs in the top of the second inning to claim a 3-0 advantage. Hunter Leroux-Porter (Greenland, N.H.) roped a double to drive in Roldan from first base before Lara launched his first collegiate home run.

The Lions tacked on a pair of scores in the fourth to widen the margin to 5-0. Lara clobbered his second homer of the game as he blasted a lead-off home run. Landeiro laced a single to knock in Juan Jacobo Lopez (San Diego, Calif.) with one out.

Easstern Nazarene added a run in the fifth to push its lead to 6-0. Pesce tagged up and motored home from third base as Lara lifted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to collect his fourth RBI of the contest.

Penn State-Berks got on the board in the bottom of the fifth frame to cut the deficit to 6-1. Joe Gramignano singled to score Logan Ewert from second base.

The Lions regained a six-run advantage, 7-1, with a run in the seventh inning as Pesce crossed the dish on a wild pitch.

The Nittany Lions produced three runs in the home half of the seventh to narrow the gap to 7-4. Kolbie Reeser scored on a wild pitch before Chad Evans landed a base hit to plate Colin Templin. Evans would come around and score on a wild pitch with two outs in the frame.

Spencer Boynton (Wellington, Fla.) pitched six innings and racked up 12 strikeouts in his second start of the spring. Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) hurled two-thirds of an inning and registered a strikeout in his first pitching appearance of the season. Jon Tessier (Coronado, Calif.) worked 2.1 innings of relief and fanned three to pick up his first save.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene continues its week-long trip to the Palmetto State with a clash with Clark March 7.