AUBURNDALE, Fl. – Junior lefty pitcher T.J. Snyder leads the Ursinus College baseball team to a split against Penn St. Altoona and Saint Vincent College.
 

Snyder delivered a gem for the Bears in game one leading them to a 5-1 victory over Penn State Altoona, while Ursinus dropped game two of the day to Saint Vincent College. On the mound, the left hander scattered four hits and five strikeouts over eight innings of work. His performance marks as a career-best for innings pitched in a game and lowers his season ERA to 2.79. Snyder has started to heat up in his last two outings as the Mullica Hill, New Jersey native has only allowed two earned runs while fanning 13 batters over 14 innings of work on the mound.
 
 
Game One: Ursinus 5, Penn St. Altoona 1

Snyder opened on the mound for Ursinus and after allowing a two-out walk he ended the first inning by recording a fly out for the final out. The Bears jumped on the scoreboard in the second inning as first-year Shane Beaver started the rally with a one-out double to right center. Beaver tallied the first run as sophomore Jakob Cantor traded places with him after slashing a two-bagger down the left field line.


 
In the bottom half of the second, Snyder allowed a one-out walk but bounced back by recording a 6-4-3 double play. With Ursinus leading 1-0 in the fourth inning and the tying run on first, Snyder picked off a runner snoozing on the base paths and collected a ground out to end the frame. In the sixth, the Nittany Lions advanced a runner to third with two outs, but Snyder stranded yet another baserunner as a lineout sent the Bears back to the plate. Ursinus tacked on a run in their half of the seventh inning as sophomore Dylan Runsdorf led off the frame with a single and advanced to third on an error by the Nittany Lions right fielder. Next up, Beaver tallied his first collegiate RBI with a line drive base hit to right center to give Ursinus a 2-0 lead.


 
Snyder continued to roll on the mound for Ursinus in the seventh as he quickly retired the first two batters and induced a ground out to end the frame. The Bears rewarded the junior left hander by adding an insurance run in the top half of the eighth inning. Sophomore Jordan Williams led off with a one-out single and later advanced to second when senior Tom Snipes delivered a base knock into right field. Williams would come around and score during the next at-bat as Runsdorf reached on an error by the Nittany Lions first baseman. Snyder came back to the mound for the eighth inning and delivered his third 1-2-3 inning of the day behind retiring the Nittany Lions in order after two flyouts and a groundout.


 
Ursinus added two more insurance runs in the ninth inning increasing their lead to five as junior Will Kelley tallied a two RBIs after a single into centerfield scored sophomores Andrew Richter and Jakob Cantor. Senior David Kratz relieved Snyder in the ninth inning and after allowing two hits he retired the final two men via fly outs to give Ursinus the 5-1 victory.


 
Game Two: Ursinus 6, Saint Francis 24

Saint Francis came out on fire scoring four runs in the first inning behind two hits and two free passes. Ursinus answered in their first chance at the plate scoring three runs in the bottom half of the inning cutting their deficit to one. Junior Will Kelley led off with a double to left center and came around to score as senior Solomon Griffith slashed a double into left field. Senior Tom Snipes tallied an RBI after connecting on a triple down the right field line and would later score as sophomore Dylan Runsdorf recorded a single through the left side of the infield.

 
In the second, the Bearcats tallied a run before Ursinus responded by tying the contest at five a piece. Griffith tallied two more RBIs behind his second extra base hit of the game with a double into right center field, scoring Cory Burns and Kelly. Saint Vincent extended their advantage to 13-5 through the next three innings as they outscored Ursinus 8-0.


 
The Bearcats added 11 runs over the final two innings of play, meanwhile the Bears added a run in the sixth inning as first-year Kyle Rosenfeld connected on a double to right center scoring Max Gadsden from second.


 
Sean McAleer earned the victory on the mound for the Bearcats while allowing six earned runs and striking out six batters through six innings of work. Senior pitcher Casey Murphy was dealt the loss after pitching three innings and allowing three hits and eight earned runs.


 
Griffith led the offense with two base hits and three RBIs while Kelley and Snipes each collected two knocks and scored one run a piece. The senior second baseman has picked up where he left off last season as he currently holds a nine-game on base streak dating back to February 26. He has started every game for Ursinus and is the leading the team in hits, batting average, and stolen bases.


 
The Bears wrap up their spring break action in Florida tomorrow as they meet Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for a doubleheader starting at 3:30pm.