PENN ST. BEHREND LANDS ECAC TOURNAMENT INVITATION

The Penn St. Behrend baseball team will host the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South Championship Tournament on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18 at the Behrend Baseball Field.

The top-seeded Lions will host fourth-seeded Bethany in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on May 17. That game will be preceded by No. 2 Gallaudet and No. 3 Centenary at 1 p.m, also at Behrend.

"We are thrilled to be hosting the 2014 ECAC Southern Region Championship in Erie," said head coach Paul Benim. "Our seniors are excited. It is another good day on the dirt and in the sun for our players. They earned the opportunity to host, and we will play hard this weekend."

This marks the eighth time in program history the Lions will appear in the tournament. Behrend has won the ECAC Championship three times -- in 2002, 2003, and again in 2012. 

The Lions feature a potent lineup, with six players hitting .300 or better. Nathan Junk leads the club with a .370 batting average and an on-base percentage of .485. John Hlavinka and Alex Margraf each have driven in 24 runs, and freshman Brian Bohman has belted two home runs with 23 RBI's.

The Behrend pitching staff has been equally as dominant. Dante DeSantis is 8-3 in 66.0 innings with a 2.39 earned run average. Chad Zurat has struck out 58 in 58.2 innings of work, compiling a 7-2 mark along the way. And freshman Justin Rohrer led the AMCC during the regular season in saves (3) and ERA (1.18).