Myrtle Beach, SC – Penn State Shenango baseball used a pair of high-scoring innings and a dominant performance from the bullpen to secure an 11-2 victory over Minnesota North College-Itasca on Friday afternoon. After falling behind early, Shenango responded with 11 unanswered runs to take control of the neutral-site contest.

Itasca struck first in the top of the opening frame, plating two runs on a double play and an RBI single. However, the lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the first, Dominic Fornataro laced a two-run double to left field to tie the game. Moments later, Nate Evans drove Fornataro home with an RBI single, and Evans eventually crossed the plate on a balk to give Shenango a 4-2 lead.

After two scoreless innings, Shenango broke the game open in the fourth. Anthony Miller ignited the rally with an RBI single to score Dom Zitello. A double play off the bat of John Perry allowed Brady Walker to cross the plate, and Jason Malley followed with an RBI single of his own to extend the lead to 7-2.

The momentum continued into the fifth inning, headlined by a leadoff solo home run from Mikey Guarnieri to right field. Malley later doubled to left, driving in two more runs, and Mason Bevan drew a bases-loaded walk to cap off a four-run inning and push the advantage to 11-2. Will Perry earned the win on the mound, striking out three over four innings of work. Tyler Houk was lights-out in relief, tossing three scoreless innings to earn the save while racking up five strikeouts and allowing just two hits.

Defensively, Shenango turned a key double play in the first inning to limit Itasca's early damage and remained steady throughout the remainder of the seven-inning contest.

Top Performers

• Jason Malley: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R

• Anthony Miller: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 3 R, SB

• Dominic Fornataro: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB

• Mikey Guarnieri: 1-3, HR, RBI, R

• Nate Evans: 1-2, RBI, R, 2 BB

• Tyler Houk: 3.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 K (Save)