LA ROCHE EARNS TOP SEED, HOSTING RIGHTS FOR AMCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

The 2016 AMCC baseball tournament kicks off this weekend with the first round games hosted by the higher seeds and the championship round to commence May 12-14 at #1 La Roche College. After a 15-1 conference run the Redhawks, current back-to-back AMCC champions, have earned hosting rights for the championship round.

Top-seeded La Roche (30-8, 15-1 AMCC) will rely on their strong pitching and balanced hitting attack as they head into the championship tournament. Senior pitcher Tanner Wilt leads the conference with a 1.38 ERA and an impressive 82 strikeouts. Wilt and sophomore pitcher Regis Sauer are tied for second with five wins, while junior pitcher Trey Claar is tops in the conference with eight saves. Offensively, junior first baseman Ben Herstine is tied for second with a .408 batting average and is tied for third with 41 RBI while junior pitcher/infielder David Lemley sits at the top with nine homeruns.

#2 Pitt-Greensburg (21-16, 13-3 AMCC) will look to freshman pitcher Cam Smith to carry them on the mound, as the rookie hurler has a league-leading six victories. At the plate, senior catcher Anthony Bozzuto is tied for fourth with a .400 batting average and junior outfielder Ryan Dodson is second with 42 RBI. 

#3 Penn State Behrend (25-13, 12-4 AMCC) will count on a balanced offense as freshman infielder Scott Sada is tied for fourth in the AMCC with a .400 batting average, sophomore infielder David Boehme is tied for third with 41 RBI, and junior catcher Brian Bohman is tied for seventh with five homeruns.

Mount Aloysius College (22-18, 9-7 AMCC) enters the tournament as the #4 seed and will look to junior Ben Legath's hot bat to carry them offensively. Legath boasts a conference-leading 52 RBI along with a .408 batting average and eight homeruns, both of which tie him for second in the conference. Senior outfielder Connor Bowie has been a tear on the base paths, racking up an AMCC-best 27 stolen bases. 

#5 Hilbert College (11-19, 6-10 AMCC) set a new single season win record (11), tied their AMCC single season win record (6) and became the first team in the program's 12-year AMCC membership history to qualify for post season play. Senior pitcher Justin Hulbert has been a bright spot on the mound for the Hawks, his 3.42 ERA puts him fifth in the conference, while his 57 strikeouts are second-best. Junior catcher/first baseman Ryan Bonafede is ninth in the conference with a .393 batting average.

Pitt-Bradford (12-21, 6-10 AMCC) rounds out the tournament as the #6 seed. Junior pitcher Ryan Northcott sits fifth in the conference with 41 strikeouts. 

La Roche and Pitt-Greensburg earned first round byes.  Penn St. Behrend will host Pitt-Bradford and Hilbert College will travel to Mount Aloysius College for the first round on Saturday, May 7 to play a best two-of-three game series.  The winners will advance to the double-elimination format championship round May 12-14. Please see our Championships page for a full tournament schedule.