Fayette Falls in Doubleheader Home Opener to Hiram
March 17, 2012
HOPWOOD, Pa. - Senior Zach Durbin (Carmichaels, Pa.) hit solo home runs in each game of Penn State Fayette's home opening doubleheader, but it was not enough as the Roaring Lions fell 6-3 and 6-5 to Hiram College on Saturday afternoon at Hutchinson Park.
Sophomore Alex Fogle (Connellsville, Pa.) added three hits on the day for Fayette (1-7), including a solo home run of his own in game two, and freshman Colvin Adey (Connellsville, Pa.) added two hits in game two.
Hiram scored four runs in the first inning of game one off of senior Jonathan Eicher (Uniontown, Pa.), and although scoring one run in each of the following two innings Hiram was unable to score the remainder of the game. Sophomore Connor McKeel (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) pitched two scoreless innings in relief as Fayette began to hit the ball. Durbin hit a long home run to right field to lead off the home half of the fourth and get Fayette on the board. In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Chris Jeffrey (Garard's Fort, Pa.) doubled to right center, and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Fogle knocked him home with a single through the right side. Junior Travis VanOlst (Coal Center, Pa.) added an RBI single in the sixth, but Hiram held off a Fayette rally to escape with a 6-3 win.
After a scoreless first inning in game two, Hiram used two Fayette errors to score three runs in the top half of the second. Durbin answered in the bottom half of the inning with his second home run of the day, this time over the right-center field wall to make it a 3-1 Hiram lead. Hiram scored a run in the top of the third, but both teams would remain scoreless over through the top of the sixth. Junior Nolan Zavora (Charleroi, Pa.), who took the loss in game two, escaped trouble in the third and fourth to limit Hiram's scoring chances, and McKeel pitched a scoreless fifth inning. Senior Sam Beucher (Connellsville, Pa.) gave up two unearned runs in the top of the sixth as a hit batter and a walk came around to score on a throwing error. The Roaring Lions answered in the home half of the sixth as they scored four runs, all with two outs. Fogle hit a solo home run to center, Durbin walked and Beucher singled through the right side. Adey added an RBI single to right, scoring Durbin and advancing Beucher to third and himself to second on the throw. VanOlst followed with an RBI single to right-center, scoring both runners and cutting the deficit to 6-5. But Fayette's scoring would end there as Hiram's Travis Richey finished with a complete game win.
Fayette returns to action at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20 as they travel to Butler Community College for a doubleheader.