ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– The Lebanon Valley College Baseball team crossed the plate 11 times in the bottom of the fifth inning, powering the club to a 19-3 victory over Penn State Berks on Tuesday, April 22, at McGill Field. Jace Fetterman played an integral role during the key inning, hitting a grand slam and recording six RBIs. 

Malachi Duka was the starting pitcher for the Dutchmen (20-16-1, 12-6 MAC Freedom) and posted a scoreless top of the first inning against the Lions (9-24, 6-8 United East), picking up two strikeouts in the process. Lebanon Valley then put a run on the board in the bottom half of the first, taking an early 1-0 lead. Spencer Butz got things started with a two-out single up the middle before Logan Brewer hit a single to center field, putting runners on the corners. Tyler Satterfield followed this with an RBI single through the left side, plating Butz. 

Landon Sexton entered the game to pitch for LVC in the top of the second and tossed a shutout inning, registering a popout to second baseman Justin Ranker down the right-field line to strand the bases loaded. Sexton also got out of a jam where Penn State Berks had runners on the corners in the top of the third inning, tallying the third out with a flyout to shortstop Owen Berry. The Flying Dutchmen added another run in the bottom of the third, going up 2-0. Fetterman led off the frame with a double down the right-field line and advanced to third on a balk, before scoring on another RBI single through the left side by Satterfield. 

The Lions responded with two runs in the top of the fourth, tying the game at 2-2 on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and a walk with the bases full. Lebanon Valley answered with three in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 5-2 advantage. Butz put the club ahead by drawing a walk with the bases loaded to bring in Ranker. This was followed by Berry scoring on a wild pitch, and Brewer hitting a sacrifice fly to left field to knock in Fetterman. 

Kyle McCracken came out of the bullpen for the Dutchmen in the top of the fifth inning and logged a zero, striking out a batter for the third out to strand a runner at third base. Lebanon Valley then delivered a big 11-run bottom of the fifth inning to take a commanding 16-2 lead. Fetterman came up to the plate with the bases loaded and lined a two-run single to left field, driving in Duncan Weir and Ranker. Butz followed this with an RBI single to second base, plating Berry. Brewer kept the offensive clinic going with a two-run double down the right-field line, bringing home Fetterman and Butz. Kenny Palmieri was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Berry walked with the bases full, scoring Brewer and Carter Enders, respectively. Fetterman capped off the key inning by crushing a grand slam that stayed fair down the right-field line, knocking in Palmieri, Weir, and Berry. 

McCracken also blanked the opposition in the top of the sixth, recording a strikeout swinging a popout to third baseman Carter Enders, and a flyout to Palmieri in right-center field. The Flying Dutchmen tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth, going ahead 17-2 after Devin Kreger led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a wild pitch. Penn State Berks countered with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning, making it a 17-3 contest. 

Lebanon Valley added two more tallies in the bottom of the seventh inning, extending its lead to 19-3 after Berry and Kreger both crossed the plate on wild pitches. Tony Bennage then came in to pitch for LVC in the top of the eighth and retired the Lions in order, registering a flyout to center fielder Ryan Murphy in right-center field, a groundout to Berry at shortstop, and a strikeout swinging. In the top of the ninth inning, Chris Langsdorf pitched for the Dutchmen and delivered a shutout top of the ninth inning. The junior secured Lebanon Valley's 19-3 victory by recording a groundout to third baseman Cole Kingsbury for the final out.  

Inside the Box Score

• Lebanon Valley outhit the Lions 19-6, marking the team's season-high in hits. LVC also tied a season-high 15 RBIs.
• Fetterman tied a season-high with a game-high three hits, which included a grand slam for his fifth homer of the year and a double. This marks the senior's seventh consecutive multi-hit game. Fetterman also had a game-high and career-high six RBIs, while tying a game-high four runs scored to set a career-high. Additionally, the senior has driven in a run each of his last seven games and scored a run in each of his last nine.  
• Berry recorded two hits to extend his hitting streak to seven games while tying a game-high two walks, driving in a run, and tying a game-high four runs scored. The junior's four runs are a career-high and mark his 10^th straight contest crossing the plate. Berry has now scored 48 runs this year, setting the program's single-season record. This record was previously held by Mike Bulgia, who scored 45 runs in 2022. 
• Brewer logged two hits with a double to extend his hitting streak to nine, three RBIs to mark his ninth consecutive game driving in a run, and a run scored to mark his fourth straight game crossing the plate. 
• Butz tied a season-high two hits to extend his hitting streak to four while knocking in two runs and scoring two runs. The junior has crossed the plate in each of his last eight games. Butz also walked for a third straight game and stole a base during the win.
• Satterfield had two hits and a pair of RBIs.
• Enders tallied two hits to extend his hitting streak to five while tying a game-high two walks to set a season-high. The first-year also scored a run. 
• Weir had a hit, a walk, and two runs scored. 
• Ranker logged a base hit and a stolen base while tying a season-high two runs scored. 
• Kreger walked for a third consecutive game and tied a career-high two runs scored. 
• Palmieri registered an RBI for a third consecutive game and scored a run. 
• Adam Jirik tied a career-high two hits. 
• Kingsbury recorded his first career base hit. 
• Murphy picked up a base hit.
• Parker Tarnoci drew a walk. 
• LVC tallied eight walks and seven hit-by-pitches. 
• Williams earned his third win of the season, tallying two strikeouts without allowing an earned run. 
• Duka struck out two batters in a scoreless top of the first inning. 
• Sexton tallied a strikeout in two shutout frames of relief. 
• McCracken tied a season-high two strikeouts in his outing. 
• Bennage and Langsdorf each struck out a batter in their appearances out of the bullpen.  

Up Next
The Dutchmen will return to the diamond at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 25, when the club will travel to take on Arcadia University at Skip Wilson Field in Ambler, Pennsylvania. This will be the first matchup of LVC's final regular season series.

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