PHILADELPHIA – The Arcadia University baseball team put up seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back on its way to a 12-3 non-conference victory over Penn State Berks Wednesday at Erny Field.
 
FOR THE RECORD: The Knights improved to 24-8 with the victory; Arcadia has now won three in a row and 10 of its last 11 contests. The Nittany Lions fell to 10-13 with the loss.
 
ON THE HILL: Robert Lichtenberger (1-0) earned the first win of his collegiate career after yielding just two hits over three scoreless innings to start the day. Arcadia's seven pitchers combined to scatter eight hits while allowing three unearned runs. Junior Mark DiBattiste recorded three strikeouts in hit two innings of work, while senior Chris Keesser fanned two of the four batters he faced in the ninth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Knights scored seven runs on seven hits and a walk in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Bryan Gillen singled to center to lead off the inning before scoring the first run of the game on senior Jordan Draude's double to center field. Fellow senior Justin Chasmar scored what proved to be the game-winning run on freshman Dylan Towey's sacrifice fly, while two runs scored on sophomore Drew Coisson's single to right. Coisson then stole second and scored on Gillen's double to right to cap the scoring in the frame.
 
Chasmar had to settle for an RBI-double in the second after his drive to right center bounced off the top of the fence and stayed in play, and then scored on Towey's double to the gap in left. The lead was extended to 11-0 before the Nittany Lions got on the board with three runs in the top of the seventh; Damian Mace drive in a pair of runs with his bases-loaded single up the middle, and Ryan Jacobs followed with an infield single that allowed a run to score.
 
ARCADIA AT BAT: Gillen went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and another driven in, while Chasmar finished 2 for 5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Freshman Phil Pierfy was 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Coisson finished 1 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Towey was 1 for 3 with a double and a game-high three runs driven in.
 
PENN STATE BERKS AT BAT: Mace was 2 for 2 at the dish with two RBI after entering the game for John McGarvey, who was 1 for 2. Jacobs was also 1 for 2 with an RBI.