Box Score From explosive offense to shaky defense to relentless effort, Tuesday afternoon provided a little bit of everything.

John Carroll and Penn State Altoona combined for 24 runs, 30 hits and seven errors in a four-hour game at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, FL. The Blue Streaks would fall short in the marathon, 13-11, despite Matthew Donnelly's four hits and Aaron Zawadzki's two hits and three walks.

Nathaniel Wenson fired 2.1 frames of one-run ball (zero earned), but five defensive blunders proved to be the difference in the hard-fought battle.

The Blue and Gold fell to 5-2 on the 2018 campaign, with four games remaining in the 2018 Russmat Classic this week.

Duncan Cappar had a feel for the strike zone from the beginning, working quickly at the string of the strike zone. He surrendered a single to Aiden Plants before a miscommunication in shallow left field yielded an RBI single for Catcher Cumming, and a 1-0 deficit for the Blue and Gold in the first.

One inning later, John Carroll would respond when Matthew Donnelly doubled and eventually scored on Zawadzki's double. Monroe Donnelly furthered the come-from-behind rally with an RBI single to left field, plating Patrick Keohane for a 2-1 advantage after three frames.

In the fourth, the Nittany Lions had their first two runners reach on errors, leading to a five-run inning, all of which were unearned for Cappar. Justin Virga and Hunter Breon both had RBI singles during the frame.

A brief team meeting would right the John Carroll ship.

JCU hung a crooked number of its own, as Michael Anderson bunted two runners into scoring position before Derek Penman ripped a two-run single and Keohane found the grass for an RBI double. Mike McCarty struck out, but the Blue Streaks had trimmed the four-run deficit to one.

The back-and-forth, seesaw nature of the contest continued.

Penn State Altoona returned to the score sheet with two straight base hits and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Cody in the fifth, increasing the deficit to two. The burst of offense ended Cappar's day, giving him a final line of 5 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (85 pitches, 57 strikes, 67 percent, six groundouts, four flyouts).

The teams each traded two-run innings between the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, as David Ferguson registered an RBI groundout, while Matthew Donnelly doubled and scored on an error in shallow right field. Shortly thereafter, Matthew Donnelly plated another run on a single to bring the tally even, 9-9, through six innings of action-packed play.

Another defensive mistake coupled with a suicide squeeze paved the way to a 12-9 deficit, as Jim Shomberg put the final touch on a three-run inning with an RBI single off reliever Erich Payne. Penn State Altoona would tack on another run in the eighth, putting the Blue and Gold in a four-run hole.

Then drama unfolded.

Pinch-runner John Bondi scored on a balk and Christian Cassaro singled in Zawadzki before a groundout by Keohane would bring the rally to a halt. Keohane was originally ruled safe by evading the tag, but the home plate umpire overruled the play to keep the two-run margin intact.

Wenson sustained his strong form, but JCU was unable to muster additional late-inning magic.

The Blue Streaks will take the day off before returning to action against Nebraska Wesleyan University on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. from Lake Myrtle Park Field #8 in Auburndale, FL.