Box Score FLORIDA COAST, Fla.- The University of Northwestern Baseball team saw their three game winning streak to start the season come to an end on Tuesday when they fell 17-8 to the Penn State Behrend Lions. The loss was the first of the season for the Eagles.

The Eagles, playing as the road team, got a couple runners on base to start the game but were not able to score the game's opening run. In the bottom half of the first inning, the Lions got a leadoff double that they were able to bring around to score to take an early 1-0 lead.

The Lions' lead did not last long as Grady Karges (Oriska, N.D./Maple Valley) led off the second inning with a triple and CJ Toutant (Hortonville, Wis./Christian Liberty) brought him in with a sacrifice fly. Bryce Crabb (Des Moines, Iowa/Grand View Christian) would then find the perfect spot in shallow centerfield to dump a single in to score Daniel Peterson (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) and Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights). Payton Christenson (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) would immediately follow with a base hit of his own to score Crabb. UNW finished the second inning with four runs on the board and now held a 4-1 lead.

Brandon Welch (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), who got the start on the mound for the Eagles, would give up three straight singles and found himself in a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the second frame. Welch would respond by picking up a strikeout and a fly out to wiggle out of the jam with the 4-1 Eagle lead still intact.

 In the third inning, the Eagles built upon their lead. Isaac Pilon (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) singled home CJ Toutant (Hortonville, Wis./Christian Liberty) and the score moved to 5-1. In the bottom of the third inning, the Lions scored a run off of an RBI double, but once against Welch stranded two runners in scoring position by picking up a strikeout to end the inning. The fourth inning followed the same script. Welch gave up a run, but stranded two more runners on base to keep the Eagles ahead 5-3.

In the fifth inning, the tide turned in favor of the PSU-Behrend Lions. When the dust would settle after a long inning in the field for the Eagles, the scoreboard showed eight runs scored in the inning for the Lions and the Eagles now trailed 11-5. The inning would come to an end when Simon Theisen (Bedford, Texas/Euless Trinity) would enter the game and pick up two strikeouts.

In the sixth inning, three runs scored with two outs for the Lions which gave them a 14-5 lead over the Eagles who had once led by four runs themselves. In the seventh inning, the Eagles' bats (who had started the game on fire) began to heat back up. It started with Ben Spores (Arlington, Wash./Arlington) and Gilbert Garcia Jr. (Stockton, Cali./Saint Mary's) drawing walks and Daniel Peterson (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) picking up an infield single to load the bases with one out. Aaron Severson (Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights) would clear the bases by ripping a three run double and the Eagles saw themselves back in the game trailing 14-8. A double play would end the inning, and put a damper on the Eagles' attempt to complete the epic comeback.

Three more runs by the Lions in the seventh inning would bring the game to its final score, 17-8 in favor of PSU-Behrend.

Up Next

The Eagles will enjoy an off day on Wednesday before continuing their 2023 Florida trip with two more games on Thursday, March 9^th. UNW will play a single game against Elizabethtown College before getting another crack at Penn State Behrend in Thursday's finale.